All I Want for Christmas
by queenC-13
Summary: Swan Queen college AU originally based on the prompt "we're the only ones on campus who didn't go home for christmas" Regina and Emma meet and fall in love, but when an accident happens that could alter them forever, can they work through their problems or just fall apart?
1. Chapter 1

**DECEMBER 11**

The snow was falling in a curtain of flurries, making it hard for Emma to see. She had just left the art building, and was struggling to carry part of her final project. Craning her head around the canvas, she twisted her arm around to see her watch.

"6:03… dammit," she muttered to herself, quickening her pace gradually. As she reached into her pocket to try and get her phone she was suddenly met with the resistance of another human body.

"Whoa! Hey!" she shouted as she felt her feet start to slip out from under her. A hand was then wrapped around her arm, steadying her body upright.

"Phew, thanks…" she started to say to her savior of the night. As she lowered her canvas, she was met with the most startlingly beautiful eyes she had ever seen. "Wow," she whispered to herself, making the woman blush.

The woman smiled, "You almost took quite the fall there."

Emma shook her head with an embarrassed look, "Sorry about that. I'm in a hurry and I should have been watching where I was going."

"It's no trouble," the woman replied, her smile getting even wider.

_Jesus,_ Emma thought to herself._ She looks like an actual angel sent from God_. She shook her head then, remembering that she had to get home.

"I'm really sorry, but I really have to be going. Thanks again though…" she trailed off, realizing she hadn't gotten the woman's name.

"Regina," the woman finished for her. "I'm Regina Mills."

"Thank you, Regina," Emma said with a grin. "I'm Emma. I'm sorry to make this so abrupt, but how about I take you out for coffee sometime for a formal thank you? Unless you're going home for break," she quickly started to back track. "I'm sure you are… Maybe when you get back then? I mean unless you don't want to…"

"Emma, Emma stop," Regina said, putting her hand on Emma's arm. "I'd love to go for coffee."

"Really?! I mean, awesome, cool. Um, here, if I could just get my phone out of my pocket…" Emma said as she started twisting around her canvas again, finally getting it and handing it over to Regina.

As Regina put her number in the phone, Emma took the time to really look at her. She was wearing a black wool coat that went down to mid thigh and revealed tights and stylish black boots. She had a red scarf tied around her neck and her nose was a light shade of pink from the cold. Her ebony hair was styled to perfection, even with the windy night.

_She's too perfect to be real…_ Emma thought. _This is going to end up too good to be true. It always is._

She was broken out of her thoughts by Regina handing the phone back.

"I can't wait to see you again Emma," she told her, a shy smile lighting up her face. "And hopefully with less collisions next time!"

"No promises," Emma joked, gathering up her stuff to start on her way once again. "I'll have you know right now that I tend to be a bit of a klutz!" she yelled as she started running down the street.

Regina laughed as she watched Emma go, limbs flying everywhere and trying to keep a hold of her canvas.

"This is going to be a very interesting break," she said to herself as she continued walking in her own direction.


	2. Chapter 2

The elevator opened with a ding as Emma finally made her way down the hallway of her apartment building. She looked at her watch once again—6:34, a half hour late.

As she was turning her key in the lock, the door started to open from the inside.

"You're late," Emma's best friend, Ruby, said.

Emma groaned. "I know I know, I'm sorry. The weather is so horrible and then I ran into this girl and-"

"Hold up," Ruby interrupted. "A girl? What girl? Did you get her number? What did she look like?"

"Ruby! Calm down," Emma replied, putting her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Her name is Regina, _yes_ I got her number, and before you ask that's all I know about her because I was rushing to get home."

"Fine, fine," Ruby grumbled.

Emma laughed, knowing her friend wasn't really annoyed. "So how was he?"

"An angel, as usual," Ruby said with a smirk. "It's a wonder he's yours, given how perfect he acts."

"Oh shut up!" Emma shoved her friend. "He's in his room?"

When Ruby nodded, Emma made her way down the small hallway. She could hear the sounds of Spongebob passing Ruby's room and stopped in the doorway, observing for a second. The little boy was curled up in his bed, holding one of her old painting t-shirts, with his focus fully on the TV.

"Hey buddy," she said, drawing attention to herself.

"Mommy!" the little boy shouted, throwing himself at his mother.

"Hey Henry!" she replied, catching his small frame easily and bringing him close to her. "I missed you today," she told him, nuzzling into his head.

Henry hugged himself closer to his mother. "I missed you too Mommy. Aunt Ruby and I had so much fun though. First we made a gingerbread house and then we decorated the stockings she got for Christmas and then she helped me make my Christmas list!"

Emma listened as she walked with him down the hallway back to the kitchen. She looked at Ruby, who was gathering food out of the fridge to start on dinner.

"Is that right?" Emma said, looking at her friend.

"Yupp," Ruby replied. Santa's got some big wishes to fill this year," she said with a wink in Emma's direction.

Emma sighed, shaking her head. While she never regretted her decision to keep Henry, events such as Christmas and his birthday were always a little tight. She'd just have to work extra hard for it. Emma wanted Henry to get everything she never got as a child, and she would do anything to make it happen.

She swiftly put Henry in his high chair at the island, and then moved to help Ruby with dinner.

"So tell me more about your day buddy," she said to Henry, letting the sounds of his chatter fill the kitchen and helping her unwind in the best way.

….

Regina sighed as she slowly made her way up the stairs to her loft. Her eyes watered at the warm temperature in the building, and she could gradually feel her fingers turning back to normal.

She unlocked her front door and turned on the lights as she made her way to the kitchen. As she tried to decide what she should make for dinner, her thoughts kept flashing back to Emma… she didn't even get the girl's last name yet she was all Regina could think about now.

_Get ahold of yourself,_ Regina thought to herself. _You don't know anything about her; she could be a crazy person._

She shook her head, Emma seemed like a breath of fresh air; someone so different than the people she grew up around and was forced to spend time with.

Regina sighed again, her phone ringing bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Regina," her mother's voice replied, causing a chill to run down Regina's back.

"Mother," she said. "What brings you to calling at this time of night?"

"I just wanted to remind you about the annual Christmas party, dear, and to ask if you were finally bringing a date to this one?"

Regina rolled her eyes, thankful that her mother couldn't see her. "No mother, once again there's no one coming with me."

As she spoke the words, however, she couldn't help her mind flashing to Emma. She shook her head—she would never put Emma through that, even if a relationship did happen to start between them.

Cora sighed through the phone, the disappointment barely hidden in her voice. "Fine, just make sure to be here 6pm, sharp."

"Of course mother," Regina said. "Goodnight."

She hung up the phone and put her phone on the counter. Opening the refrigerator she realized she would have to go grocery shopping soon. She shut the fridge and decided to just have a bowl of cereal for dinner; past the point of caring.

After her quick dinner and a long bath, Regina finally just got into bed. There was only 2 more days in the winter semester, and she was completely burned out.

As she started to fall asleep she thought once more of Emma's face, smiling broadly at her in the snow. _I hope she calls soon…_ she thought to herself, before falling asleep completely.


	3. Chapter 3

**DECEMBER 13**

Two days later Regina was walking out of her last class of the day when her phone rang with an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi!" a female voice answered. "I'm sorry, I know I said I would call you and it's been two days but I was really busy finishing out the semester and my-um, with other stuff and I figured I would just wait until we would both have free time for coffee! Oh, it's Emma, by the way…" she trailed off, sounding slightly embarrassed.

Regina laughed, "Hi Emma. Don't worry about it; I've been pretty busy finishing up last minute work too. I'm glad you called."

"Yeah?" Emma asked. Regina thought she could detect a smile in Emma's voice.

"Yeah," Regina answered.

There was a small pause in the conversation, though not uncomfortable.

"So…" Emma said, "How about that coffee?"

"I'd love to," Regina answered. "Are you free this afternoon?"

"Ummm…" Emma trailed off. "Yeah, I should be free. It's…" there was rustling heard on the other line in what Regina assumed was Emma looking for the time. "…Almost 12 now, so do you want to meet around 2?"

"That sounds perfect," Regina agreed. "Where do you want to meet?"

"Is the East Village too far out of your way? There's this great little coffee shop there called Ninth Street Bistro. They've got really great coffee and it's way cheaper than Starbucks. But I mean we don't have to go there if you don't want to… or if you can't get there easily… I'll meet wherever," Emma started rambling again.

Regina let out an easy laugh, thoroughly amused by this quirk she was beginning to understand was the norm for Emma.

"The East Village is fine," Regina told Emma. "I'll see you there at 2."

"Okay! Awesome!" Emma exclaimed. "See you then!"

Regina smiled as she hung up the phone. Things with Emma were really starting to look up.

….

At 1:45 Emma was seated in the bistro waiting for Regina. Her phone buzzed on the table in front of her and she looked down, seeing it was a text from Ruby.

_she there yet? is she dressed hot? ;)_ The message read.

Emma shook her head at her friend, and replied. _No she is not here yet. Quit bugging me and pay attention to my son before he loses a limb, please._

Ruby responded with just a wink face, but Emma wasn't really worried. Ruby had been helping Emma with Henry since she gave birth to him three years ago. Add that to the fact that Ruby lived with them too; for all intents and purposes she was the second parent that Henry didn't really have.

As Emma looked up from her phone, she saw Regina walking through the door of the bistro and caught her eye, waving her over.

"Emma, hi. So nice to see you in the day time and not almost falling over," Regina said with a smirk.

Emma laughed, standing up to pull Regina's chair out for her before sitting back down herself.

"I'm sure," she replied. "What about you? You're even prettier in the day time!"

Regina blushed. "You're quite the charmer," she told Emma.

"I try," Emma answered with her own smirk.

The waitress walked over before they could say anything else, and took both of their orders. Once she walked away, Emma started talking again.

"So, tell me about yourself Regina Mills."

"Well," Regina said, thinking for a moment. "I'm a senior at NYU, I'm graduating as an English major and I want to be an elementary school teacher. I'm from a small town in Maine that no one has ever heard of and I'm currently very glad I decided to stay home for Christmas break."

Emma smiled, "I'm glad you decided to stay home as well."

"What about you? I don't even know your last name," Regina pointed out.

"Swan. Emma Swan," Emma replied in a James Bond voice, and then laughed. "Let's see… well, I grew up in the foster system so I bounced back between NYC and Boston. I'm also a senior at NYU but I'm majoring in art. Eventually I want to own my own art gallery but I guess we'll see what happens after I graduate."

Regina looked surprised. "The foster system? Emma, I'm-"

"Don't say you're sorry," Emma interrupted. "It definitely wasn't the most ideal way to grow up, but look where I am now, yeah?"

Regina nodded, "Okay, so tell me more about this art major."

The waitress came back with their coffee and set it on the table. Regina noticed her smiling at Emma and was surprised to feel a pang of jealousy, but luckily Emma didn't seem to notice the attention, only focused on Regina.

"Well since I was younger art was one of the only consistent things in my life. Whether I was with a foster family or in one of the group homes there was always pencil and paper. Then once I got to high school I had an amazing art teacher and she really helped me get to where I am now," Emma said.

Regina was completely drawn to Emma; the passion in her eyes was incredible and Regina could tell that this was something that meant more to Emma than anything else in the world and she wanted to learn more about it.

Emma was interrupted, however, by her phone ringing. Looking down, she saw it was Ruby. "I'm sorry I have to take this."

She moved away from the table as she answered the phone, "Hello? Ruby?"

"Emma! Oh God Emma I'm so sorry," Ruby was saying. Emma could hear the sounds of crying in the background and her heart dropped to her stomach.

"Ruby what happened? What's wrong with Henry?" she demanded.

As Emma was talking to Ruby, Regina was observing the conversation. Although she couldn't hear what Emma was saying, she was pacing pack and forth and obviously seemed distressed. Regina couldn't help but wonder what Emma was keeping from her, and hoped that everything was okay.

Emma took a deep breath after Ruby's explanation, "It's okay Ruby, I know it wasn't your fault. I'm on my way. Tell Henry I love him and that mommy will be there soon, okay?" Emma said, before hanging up.

She moved back over to Regina and began grabbing her belongings and putting on her coat.

"I'm so sorry but I have to go, there's a-um, family emergency," she explained, not quite wanting to tell Regina she had a son yet.

"That's alright," Regina said, wondering what had Emma so frazzled. "We can meet up again soon, right?"

"Yes, definitely!" Emma replied. Before she could rethink it she kissed Regina on the cheek and then rushed out of the bistro, leaving a bewildered and blushing Regina in her wake.

"Well I'll be damned," Regina whispered to herself, before leaving the bistro herself.

**A/N** **This is all I have written so far, so let me know how you like it and I'll be working on the rest when I can!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Here's the newest part! Keep reviewing with comments or suggestions please :) I'm trying my hardest to get these chapters out as quickly as possible**

Emma rushed into the hospital going straight to the front desk.

"Hi, my name is Emma Swan. My son was brought here a little while ago, his name is Henry Swan?" she told the receptionist quickly.

"Oh yes they're in with the doctor now," she responded, "Room 117. You've got a brave little boy on your hands, Miss Swan."

Emma smiled gratefully and said her thanks before moving down the hallway and finding the room on her left.

"Henry!" she cried, seeing her son sitting on the exam chair with Ruby holding his right hand next to him—his left arm was currently being fitted for a cast by the doctor.

Ruby and Henry both looked up at Emma's voice with matching tear stains on their cheeks. Although Henry looked much more interested in what the doctor was doing to him, while Ruby still just looked worried.

"Mommy!" Henry yelled. "I hurt my arm, it hurts a lot."

Emma walked over to them and ran her fingers through Henry's hair before kissing his forehead.

"I see that buddy, but I'm sure Aunt Ruby took good care of you, right?" she said, shooting a meaningful look at her friend.

Ruby looked back at Emma gratefully, and took Emma's hand in her free one, squeezing it. Emma just nodded in understanding and then looked to the doctor. He looked pretty young, and had perfectly styled blonde hair and sea blue eyes.

_He looks more like Prince Charming than a doctor_ Emma thought to herself, before addressing him out loud.

"So what's the verdict, doctor? I'm Emma, Henry's mom. As I'm sure you've guessed."

The doctor smiled, and reached out his hand to shake Emma's. "Hi Emma, I'm David Nolan. Henry here has got a clean break on his wrist so we're gonna keep this cast on it for 8 weeks to get it all healed up. He's young so there shouldn't be any further problems, but if you have any concerns you can always bring him back in."

"Thank you so much," Emma said. "How about that Henry? You okay to have this cast on for 2 months?"

"Can we put superhero stickers on it?" Henry asked.

Emma laughed, "Of course we can buddy. We can even pick some up on the way home."

"Yay!" he yelled, a large smile lighting up his face. Emma smiled in response, feeling much better now that she knew Henry was fine.

"Anything else we should be doing Doctor Nolan?" she asked.

"Please, call me David," he responded. "As for caring for the injury, child Motrin should be fine in recommended doses to help with the pain, and make sure to cover the cast with plastic in the bath. Otherwise everything else should be fine."

Ruby spoke up, finally joining the conversation. "Thank you so much, _David_. You look pretty young to be a doctor. Any chance a catch like you is single?" she asked with a wink.

David chuckled, luckily taking no offense to her flirting. "Unfortunately I've got an amazing fiancée waiting for me at home."

"Darn," Ruby replied, with mock disappointment. "Let her know she's a lucky lady!"

"I will," David said, before standing up and patting Henry lightly on the pack. "You're all done here, Mister Swan." He then produced a lollipop from his pocket and handed it to Henry. "And this is for being so brave."

"What do we say to Doctor Nolan, Henry?" Emma prompted her son.

"Thank you!" he said sweetly, smiling up at the doctor and showing his little dimples.

Emma then moved to pick him up, being careful to avoid jostling his injured arm too much. "Yes, thank you so much David. I'll make sure to be in touch if there's any problems."

"It was no trouble at all," David told her. "You've got a great son here."

Emma grinned, loving nothing more than getting compliments on her son. "Thank you, that really means a lot." She turned towards Ruby, "Do you want to meet us at home? I've got to get this one his superhero stickers and pick up some extra Motrin."

Ruby nodded, "Sure, sounds like a plan." She moved to kiss Henry on the forehead, and then kissed Emma on the cheek.

Emma gave her a look. "Do _not_ apologize again. It wasn't your fault- stop feeling so guilty. I will see you at home," she said, squeezing Ruby's arm.

Ruby sighed and followed Emma out of the room, "Okay, okay, fine. I'll see you at home."

David smiled as he watched them go, observing that the two were quite obviously close friends. He hoped Emma was single though, because he thought that his one friend might hit it off with her…

….

Regina walked into her apartment and put her purse on the hook by the door. As she made her way to the couch and sat down she started thinking about Emma. Their coffee date had been going so well and she really hoped that nothing was wrong when Emma left.

_She did kiss you on the cheek, though_, Regina reminded herself.

She sighed, shaking her head. It was no use worrying about it now; she'd just text Emma later to talk some more. Picking up the remote on the coffee table in front of the couch, Regina turned on the TV and started looking for something to watch.

After searching through the channels for a bit she came across Snow White, her favorite movie as a child. Regina smiled to herself; some childhood nostalgia was always good.

As she settled in to watch the movie her phone started buzzing in her pocket. Looking at the caller ID she saw it was her stepsister and best friend, Mary Margaret. When Regina's dad had died when she was sixteen and her mom decided to re-marry, Regina hadn't been happy about it, but Mary Margaret had turned out to be a blessing.

"Hey you," Regina said, answering the phone.

"Hi!" Mary Margaret replied. Regina could hear the smile in her voice; Mary Margaret was _always_ smiling about something.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Oh nothing much, I talked to Cora today…"

"Ugh," Regina groaned. "What did she have to say to you about me now?"

"She's concerned that you once again don't have a date for the Christmas party next week," Mary Margaret said. "I told her that you didn't even need to be settling down yet, but you know her. Just because I'm engaged she thinks you should be too."

Even though Mary Margaret couldn't see her, Regina still couldn't help but scowl. While Mary Margaret herself was wonderful, ever since their parents had married Cora constantly compared the two girls.

"It's okay," Mary Margaret soothed. "You should just be worrying about school anyway. I know my work load is so busy I can hardly worry about my own wedding!"

Regina sighed, "I know, I know. You guys are going to have to play interception during the party anyway, though."

"Of course," Mary Margaret agreed. "What are sisters for?"

Regina smiled; talking to her stepsister did always improve her mood.

"So anyways, what's new? I haven't heard from you in a few days," Mary Margaret asked.

"I know, I've been so busy finishing up the semester I forgot to check in like usual. Then today I had coffee with a friend and-"

"Hold up!" Mary Margaret interrupted. "What friend?! A new friend? A _girl_ friend, perhaps?"

Regina sighed lovingly at her stepsister, knowing this was coming. "_Yes_, a new friend. I ran into her, literally, the other day and she ended up inviting me to coffee."

A loud squeal came through the phone, causing Regina to hold it away from her face for a few seconds to let Mary Margaret get out all of her excitement.

"Before you ask, her name is Emma and she's also a student at NYU. She's graduating as an art student and that's all I got to find out before she had to rush off," Regina said.

"Rush off?" Mary Margaret asked. "Well that doesn't sound very promising."

Regina scoffed, "Thanks for the confidence! She said it was a family emergency and I believe that something was wrong. She seemed reluctant to say what it was about though…"

"Hmm," Mary Margaret replied, thinking for a moment. "She could just be a closed off person. I'm sure that once you talk more she'll open up more. Just give it time. And report back to me everything!"

"Okay, _mom_," Regina joked, chuckling a bit. Mary Margaret was such a romantic at heart that she had always just wanted Regina to be happy as well, which wasn't always easy. Regina loved her for that.

"Oh, I've got to go now, David just got home!" Mary Margaret said. "I'll talk to you later, okay? Love you!"

"I love you too," Regina replied. "Bye."

Regina hung up the phone; feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She would just have to talk to Emma later to make sure things were okay.

…..

Pulling into the parking garage next to her apartment building, Emma looked into the backseat and saw that Henry had fallen asleep on the drive. It wasn't surprising, given all the adventure that had happened today.

She grabbed her shopping bag and then got out of the front seat and made her way to the back of the car. Pushing the bag up her arm, she carefully unbuckled Henry and picked him up without waking him.

Slowly she made her way into the building and got in the elevator. Once she reached her floor she made her way down the hallway and was glad to find the door unlocked, meaning Ruby was already home.

Emma opened the front door and saw Ruby sitting on the couch reading, and could smell food cooking from the kitchen. Ruby looked up and was about to say something when she saw that Henry was asleep.

As Emma made her way down the hallway to Henry's room, Ruby followed close behind. Ruby rolled down the covers while Emma gently set Henry on the bed. They each leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead before leaving the room and quietly shutting the door.

Making their way back to the living room, Emma sat down on the couch and Ruby sat next to her, resting her head on Emma's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I ruined your date," Ruby mumbled.

Emma gently shoved her friend's shoulder. "What did I tell you about apologizing?"

Ruby let out a big sigh. "Not to do it. But I really do feel bad!"

"Well don't," Emma said. "Regina seemed really understanding anyway so it's fine."

"What did she say when she found out you had a kid?" Ruby asked.

"She didn't," Emma replied. "I don't think I want to tell her yet."

Sensing this was about to turn into a serious conversation, Ruby shifted so she could see Emma's face.

"Why not?" she asked. "Do you think she'll reject you once she finds out?"

Emma shook her head. "She wants to be an elementary school teacher so I think she'd be okay, but I kind of just want to get to know her before bringing her into our life, you know? I just don't want Henry to get attached if it's not going to work out."

Ruby rested her head back on Emma's shoulder and put her arm around Emma's stomach in a half hug.

"You're a great mom, Em. Whatever you think is best for Henry is the right choice," Ruby said. "I really hope this does work out for you though. You know I love you and Henry but we can't live together forever."

"I know," Emma sighed. "I'll talk to Regina tonight after dinner."

The two sat in companionable silence, eventually falling asleep. Henry crawling across both of their laps awakened them a half an hour later.

"Hey buddy," Emma said, her voice thick with sleep. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Uh huh," Henry nodded. "Did you?"

Emma and Ruby both chuckled. "Yes we did," Ruby answered. "Are you ready for dinner now?"

"Yeah!" Henry yelled.

Ruby stood up, picking Henry up with her and carefully put him on her shoulders, moving to the kitchen. Emma followed behind with a smile and then moved to get dinner out of the oven.

The two adults moved around the kitchen in sync, getting dinner set up on the table and then served Henry before serving themselves. The table was pretty quiet, with everyone still tired from the long day.

After dinner the three of them watched cartoons for a bit, until it was time for Henry to go to bed.

Finally Emma made it to her own room and took her phone out, deciding to text Regina.

_Hey, you._

After a minute her phone buzzed, designating a response.

**Hello there. Everything okay?**

_Yes it is. Thank you for being so understanding earlier. I really was having a great time before I had to leave._

**So was I. I especially enjoyed that kiss on the cheek before you left ;)**

Emma blushed; she had forgotten that she had done that.

_Oh God, I'm sorry. I wasn't even thinking, I just did it_

**Don't apologize. I just told you that I enjoyed it. I'd also enjoy seeing you again sometime… maybe for dinner?**

_I'd love to. :)_

**Good. I'll plan it this time and call you tomorrow with details?**

_Sounds perfect. Goodnight Regina, sleep tight xx_

**Goodnight Emma. I look forward to seeing you again xx**

After she read Regina's last response, Emma was finally able to fall asleep with a small smile gracing her lips.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Sorry for the delay- halfway through fall semester at college things get crazy busy. I'm working my hardest to finish this as quickly as possible, but essays keep getting in the way. And just for reference, the first time they met was December 11 and their lunch date was December 13.**

**DECEMBER 17**

Regina was rushing to the library to print a last minute paper, and then she would finally be done with work for the semester. And _then_ hopefully she would get to spend more time with Emma.

She smiled, thinking about how their date had gone the other night. Emma was definitely someone she wanted to keep in her life, and they had only known each other a week, which was more than a little scary.

Emma was just so… down to earth, Regina realized. Coming from the world she grew up in, it was definitely a breath of fresh air. She made Regina laugh more than she ever thought possible, and she was pretty sure a smile never left her face during their entire date. And the goodnight kiss… Regina sighed wistfully. While brief, because Emma wanted to "act like a lady on the first date," there was more sparks than Regina had had with anyone else, even-

Regina shook her head. Best not to go down that road.

The bottom line was, Emma seemed pretty much perfect so far. It was bound to end up too good to be true, but for now Regina just wanted to trust her gut and see where this was going.

As she reached the door to the library, still lost in thought, her body collided with someone else.

A hand grabbed her arm and before she could look up a familiar voice said, "Fancy running into you here."

"Emma!" she exclaimed with a grin.

Emma smirked in reply, "We have _got_ to stop meeting like this."

"Well if you would just watch where you were going…" Regina joked.

"I was sending a very important text message, thank you very much," Emma protested in response. "What about you, Miss Head-in-the-Clouds? Any interesting thoughts in there? All about me I hope."

Regina blushed.

"They were!" Emma gasped. "I knew I was too irresistible for my own good."

Regina shoved Emma's shoulder, "Oh stop it. You can't prove anything."

Emma slyly grabbed Regina's hand as it was leaving her shoulder and replied, "I've been thinking about you too, don't worry."

The two smiled, temporarily getting lost in each other's eyes until someone leaving the library rudely broke them apart.

Emma coughed, "Guess we should move. What are you doing here? Last minute project?"

"Research paper," Regina replied. "I just have to print it and run it to my professor then I'm done for the semester."

"Lucky you," Emma groaned. "Somehow I missed that we had a final evaluation so I have meet my professor here and make that up."

Regina grinned in sympathy, rubbing Emma's arm briefly. "Well maybe when you're done you can come over for dinner?"

"I'd love to," Emma said. "I'll just have to call my roommate and make sure she didn't have anything planned for tonight."

"Perfect," Regina answered. "Text me when you're done and then you can come right over. I'll send you my address."

"Sounds good," Emma said, before leaning in and quickly giving Regina a kiss. She smirked, although she had a slight blush on her face, and then ran off in her typical-Emma fashion. "I'll see you later!" she called over her shoulder.

Regina grinned to herself; happy that tonight would be good. She walked into the library and made her way over to the computers. As she waited for the computer to turn on she checked her phone and saw a text message from Mary Margaret.

_Call me when you can. Xoxo_

She frowned, hoping everything was okay. Soon she logged into her email and had the printer paper in no time. After a quick walk across campus the paper was in her professor's hands and she took a deep breath, reveling in her new freedom.

As she was leaving the academic building she pulled her phone out of her pocket once more and pressed the call button next to Mary Margaret's name.

"Hello?" her stepsister answered, in her perpetually cheery tone.

"Hey," Regina replied, "I got your message. Are you alright?"

"Oh yes, sorry!" Mary Margaret exclaimed. "It's just that David's out of town for some medical conference and I'm _so_ bored and there's only so many wedding magazines a girl can look at!"

Regina chuckled at her stepsister's antics. She always was one of those people that couldn't be left alone for too long—an extrovert to the core.

"I imagine the entire house is now spotless and you're ready to move onto the neighbor's?" Regina joked.

Mary Margaret huffed in response, "You know I need to stay occupied!"

"I know, I know," Regina answered. "So you just called me for some riveting conversation?"

"And to ask if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight and maybe watch a movie afterwards?"

Regina groaned in apology, "I'm so sorry, I totally would but I already invited Emma over for dinner tonight. We ran into each other before."

"Oooh, yet another date with Emma?" Mary Margaret replied in excitement. "So I take it things are going well between you two?"

"Yeah, they really are," Regina said, feeling a grin light up her face.

Mary Margaret sighed through the phone, "Fine. Then I guess I forgive you for rejecting my plans… _and_ I won't even ask if I can come to dinner too."

"Thanks, you're so kind" Regina said sarcastically. "I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun with Emma and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Wow, nothing beyond cuddling? I'm so disappointed," Regina drawled, clearly making fun of her stepsister's previously innocent ways.

Regina hung up the phone on Mary Margaret's protests, knowing she wouldn't really be mad. She checked the time on her phone and saw that it was only 3:30… she figured she had a few hours before Emma would be over so she made her way home, planning dinner as she walked. Lasagna would probably be nice…

…

Regina was just finishing up the salad when she heard a knock on her door. Looking at the clock she saw that it was exactly 7.

Moving over to the front door, she quickly smoothed down her dress before opening it. Immediately a bouquet of lilies was shoved into her face.

"Hi!" Emma exclaimed, her cheeks an adorable shade of pink from the cold. "I wasn't sure what flowers were your favorite so I just got these," she continued with a bashful smile.

Regina took the flowers from Emma and gave her a grin in return, "They're beautiful, I love them. Thank you, Emma."

"You're beautiful," Emma replied, her typical smirk returning to her face, followed by a chuckle when she got the intended reaction out of Regina—a blush covering her cheeks and neck.

"I mean it though," Emma said. "You should totally wear dresses all the time."

Regina had made an effort tonight and was in one of the little black dresses she owned, but rarely wore. Her hair was styled to perfection and her red lipstick perfectly matched her heals.

"Thank you," she responded. "You clean up quite nicely yourself. And it appears we match."

Emma was dressed in a red dress that also matched Regina's heels, although hers was form fitting and extremely sexy. Her blonde girls cascaded down her back, making her almost look like a princess.

Emma beamed, clearly happy with this realization. She then leaned forward and gave Regina a lingering kiss, pulling back before it could get too heated.

"Now our lips match too," she said, her voice slightly lower than normal. Then she straightened up, and started moving towards where she could see the kitchen was. "So what's for dinner? I'm starving!"

Regina chuckled, following closely behind. "I made my famous lasagna and a healthy salad, since based off of what you told me at dinner the other night you eat garbage most of the time," she said with a playful glare.

"_Famous_ lasagna?" Emma exclaimed, ignoring the comment about her diet. "I didn't know I was in the company of a famous person, I better get my camera so I can document this and make the general public jealous-"

Before she could continue Regina grabbed her around the middle and stopped her sentence with a kiss on the lips. Emma gasped into the kiss, taken by surprise, but clearly happy about it.

"Mmmm," she said, as they broke apart. "I could get used to this."

Regina smiled in response, kissing Emma once more before breaking away.

"Good, because I think I can keep you around," Regina replied.

"Oh you do, do you?" Emma chuckled.

Their banter continued as Regina pulled the lasagna out of the oven, and brought it over to the small table in the corner of the kitchen. The table was already set, so at Regina's gesture Emma brought over the salad bowl and sat down.

Dinner went quickly, since apparently Emma really hadn't eaten anything all day and scarfed down the meal as if she had never eaten in her life.

"This is the best thing I've ever put in my mouth," Emma moaned in appreciation, eating every last bite on her plate.

"I'm glad you liked it, dear," Regina said. She prided herself on her cooking, but it was nice to hear affirmation from someone she cared about. "Now how would you feel about watching a movie?"

"I'd love to," Emma told her. "Let me just text Ruby and let her know I'll be home late tonight."

"You and your friend Ruby seem quite close for you to be letting her know where you are all the time, should I be worried?" Regina joked.

A strange look flashed over Emma's face, but before Regina could identify it, it was gone.

"Of course not, you know I've only got eyes for you," Emma said, giving Regina an exaggerated kiss on the cheek. "She's just the closest thing to family I've got, and I haven't really dated much since- well, a past relationship, so I don't want her to worry."

Regina nodded in understanding. "Bad relationships can do that to you."

Before Emma could ask about that, however, she interjected. "So how about that movie? I've got just about every genre in the living room if you want to look while I clean up."

Emma paused, but then seemed to accept the subject change. "You sure you don't want me to help?"

"It's fine, dear," Regina said. "Really, go pick something out. I'll watch anything."

Emma snickered, and Regina heard her muttering about accepting the challenge as she walked into the living room. Regina shook her head.

_What an idiot_, she thought to herself. _But now she's my idiot_. She sighed, smiling to herself, as she started cleaning up the dishes.

Suddenly the phone rang, breaking her concentration.

"Do you want me to get that?" she heard Emma yell from the other room.

"No, just let the answering machine get it," Regina called back.

Soon enough the answering machine beeped, and then her mother's voice started filling in the air, causing Regina to groan in frustration.

_Hello Regina, I trust you have been well since the last time we talked. Anyways, I saw Victor Whale today, you remember him? Well he said he saw you at a bistro the other day with a blonde girl and that the two of you looked quite cozy…_

Regina didn't need to see her mother's face to know that it was pinched into judgment.

_I must say I'm rather disappointed in you, dear. You told me you had no one to bring to the Christmas party, but I hope you know that you must bring this mystery girl now. I'll see you then._

The message clicked off with a resounding beep, causing Regina to drop her head onto the counter in frustration.

"So, uh, I'm assuming that was your mother?" she heard Emma's voice say awkwardly from behind her.

Regina stood up and turned around to face Emma with a big sigh.

"Yes… she's not the warmest person in the world, as I'm sure you could tell," Regina replied with a frown.

Emma nodded, and then opened her mouth, pausing a bit before speaking.

"So… what's this about a Christmas party?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Mother's annual 'Christmas bash,' which is basically just another excuse to show off all of the new and fancy items she's acquired since last Christmas. It's mandatory for me to go, but despite what she said you don't have to. I wasn't even going to ask because honestly, I wouldn't put anyone through that."

"She sounded pretty adamant about you bringing me though," Emma said hesitantly.

Regina sighed again, and then took Emma's hand. "I'll figure something out, don't worry about it."

Emma took a step closer. "It seems important to you though. And I mean, what better way to meet the parents then to dive right into some fancy-rich Christmas party?" she joked, lightly.

"Are you sure?" Regina asked warily. "I mean, we've only known each other a week. Don't you think this is too soon?"

Emma threaded her fingers through Regina's, and lightly rubbed the back of Regina's hands with her thumbs.

"What I think, is that I really like you. More than anyone else I've ever met. And I'm sorry if that scares you, it scares me too honestly, and there's a lot that could go wrong but really what better way to put this to the test than jumping right in?" Emma told Regina softly. "But if you really aren't comfortable with me going, then I won't. No harm, no foul."

Regina stared at Emma, completely bewildered.

"You're too perfect to be real," she whispered.

Emma chucked, slowly moving her face towards Regina's.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said, before closing the distance between their lips. It was a sensual kiss, filled with more feeling and passion than either had ever felt. After a few minutes the two broke apart, smiling goofily at each other.

"So how about that movie?" Emma prompted, keeping their hands joined. They walked over to the couch and sat down, with Regina cradled into Emma's side.

She was still a little nervous about bringing Emma to the Christmas party, but she would just have faith that everything would go okay.

**Please please please tell me what you think. Any reviews/criticism will help me with what I write in the future :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I can see all the views this story is getting so seriously please leave criticism/comments/anything to help me improve this story any way I can!**

**DECEMBER 24**

"Ruby!" Emma yelled from her closet, throwing potential clothes behind her into the room. "I need your help!"

As she stood up and turned around Ruby appeared in the doorway holding Henry on her hip.

"Mommy you made a big mess of your room. No TV for a week," he said seriously.

Ruby barked out a laugh and kissed Henry on the forehead before putting him down and letting him walk into the room and climb on to Emma's bed.

"Seriously though Em, what happened here?" Ruby asked while walking into the room herself.

Emma groaned and threw her hands in the air. "I have nothing to wear! This is the first time I'm meeting Regina's mom and it's really important to her and nothing I have is appropriate. This is going to be a disaster," she rambled in a frenzy.

Ruby walked over and put her hands on Emma's shoulders, forcing her to stand still.

"Take a deep breath," she commanded, and waited for Emma to breathe before continuing. "Now, you still have about an hour before you need to leave so just go shower and I will pick out your outfit for you. Then when you get out I'll do your hair while you work on your make-up. Okay?"

Emma took another deep breath, and then smiled at Ruby.

"Thanks Rubes, you're a life saver."

"Eh, what else are friends for?" Ruby said, while turning Emma around and giving her a shove towards the bathroom. "Now go!"

Once Emma left the room, Ruby turned towards the mess on the bed and tried to find something appropriate for this Christmas party. From what Emma had told her, Regina's mom seemed like kind of a nightmare and she definitely had to make sure Emma was more than presentable.

"Mommy's going out tonight?" Henry asked, breaking Ruby out of her thoughts.

She looked up at him and nodded her head, "Yupp. It's just me and you tonight, buddy."

Henry frowned, "But it's Christmas Eve."

"That's okay," Ruby said, moving to sit next to Henry. "Mommy will be home before Santa even gets here, and she'll definitely be home for you to wake her up real early in the morning."

As she finished her sentence she started tickling him, making him laugh and forget all about Emma leaving for now.

A throat clearing in the doorway caused Ruby to pause in her actions, and she looked up to find Emma casually standing against the doorframe in her bathrobe.

"And what do we have here?" she asked, looking at her son and best friend.

"Mommy!" Henry shrieked. "Aunt Ruby wouldn't stop tickling me!"

"She wouldn't, would she?" Emma said with a smirk, slowly moving closer. "Well it would really be a shame if I joined in too…" she trailed off, pouncing on the bed and starting to tickle her son as well.

Henry's laugh was like music to her ears, and she felt a little less guilty about leaving him on Christmas Eve since she knew he would have fun with Ruby. Finally the two of them stopped, and Emma put Henry on her lap, giving him a series of kisses all over his face.

Henry squirmed away, rolling all over the bed in the process and causing Emma to laugh.

"So, what outfit have you decided for me?" she asked Ruby.

Looking down, Ruby saw an elegant black dress that would be cinched at the waist, and come down to mid-thigh—perfectly appropriate for a Christmas party if paired with a red necklace and heels.

Once the outfit was decided the two moved to Emma's mirror so she could finish getting ready. As Emma carefully applied her make-up, Ruby decided to curl her friend's hair and then add a few intricate braids.

An hour later and Emma was finally ready, but feeling no less nervous. As she was pulling her shoes on Henry walked over and stared at her for a moment before saying, "You look like a princess Mommy."

Emma smiled at her son, thankful that the "terrible threes" she had heard so much were nowhere to be found with her kid.

"Thanks, buddy," she said, right as a knock came at the front door.

Ruby and Emma both looked in the direction of the front door, and then at each other.

"I thought you were meeting Regina at her place?" Ruby asked.

Emma looked back to the door, the confusion clear on her face. "I thought so too…"

Ruby shrugged. "Maybe she wanted to surprise you."

Another knock came at the door, breaking the two out of their discussion.

Emma looked to Henry, and then back to the door.

"Ruby can you answer the door? I'm gonna bring Henry to his room and get him situated," she said.

Ruby sighed, still thinking Emma should tell Regina about her son, but obliged. She made her way to the front door and made sure Emma and Henry were out of sight before opening the door.

The woman standing in front of her was dressed in an emerald green dress that was perfectly cut to her body, and her hair and make-up looked professionally done. Ruby looked her up and down slowly, and then let out a low whistle, causing Regina to blush.

"Wow, Emma really did good this time," she finally said with a wink to Regina.

Regina cleared her throat, then stuck her hand out to shake, "You must be Ruby," she said.

"You would be correct," Ruby smirked. "I've heard so much about you."

"All good things I hope," Regina replied.

"Of course good things," Emma said, appearing behind Ruby and then stopping in her tracks once she caught sight of Regina.

"Wow," Emma breathed. "You look amazing."

Regina smiled her smile that had now taken to being just for Emma. "You don't look so bad yourself, dear."

"I thought I was picking you up?" Emma asked, breaking herself out of the trance of staring at Regina.

"I decided to be the chivalrous one for once," Regina said, taking Emma's hand.

Ruby groaned, and then made fake gagging noises.

"You two are disgusting!" she exclaimed, although everyone knew she was joking. "Now get out of here before you're late for your fancy party."

She shoved the two out the door, and then shut it before Emma could give her any special demands. She deserved a nice Christmas Eve without worrying about her son for once. That meant that once Henry was in bed Ruby was going to set out all the presents under the tree so Emma could go straight to bed when she got home.

For now though… "Henry what do you want to make for dinner?" she called, while moving to the kitchen. She just had to keep the kid occupied for a few more hours.

….

Hours later Ruby was passed out on the couch after setting out the presents for Henry, exhausted from playing with him all night. Suddenly her phone started ringing, startling her out of sleep.

Glancing at the screen she saw that it was an unfamiliar number—and twelve in the morning?

"Hello?" she said, voice thick with sleep. At the immediate cries she could hear on the other end of the phone, however, she was awake instantly.

"Hello? Emma?"

"It's- it's Regina," the voice on the phone choked out. "There's been an accident…"

**To be continued :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**** Thanks to all the people who are reviewing! Please keep it up to let me know what you think, and also just let me know if you have any suggestions for things you want to see happen :)**

As Ruby shut the door behind Emma and Regina, Emma turned around as if she was going to open it back up to tell Ruby something, but then thought better of it.

"Everything okay?" Regina asked.

Emma nodded, "Yeah, everything's fine. We should go before we're late."

As she started down the hallway it took a second for Regina to follow her. She still felt like Emma was hiding something from her, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up.

_Maybe after the party…_ she thought, joining Emma in the elevator.

After Emma pressed the button for the ground floor, she took Regina's hand and gave her a blinding smile.

"You really do look amazing," Emma told her.

Regina grinned before leaning over and giving Emma a lingering kiss. She was pretty sure she could never grow tired of kissing Emma, but as soon as it started to get heated the elevator dinged, signaling their arrival to the ground floor.

"Your majesty," Emma said jokingly, gesturing for Regina to leave the elevator in front of her.

Regina led them to her car and once they were situated noticed that Emma seemed to be fidgeting more than normal. Reaching over, she put her hands on top of Emma's to still them.

"Try not to be so nervous," she said in a soothing voice. "Mother is certainly… difficult, but if you're really uncomfortable just say the word and we're out of there."

Emma leaned over and quickly kissed Regina on the cheek, not wanting her to get distracted from her driving.

"Thank you," she replied, voice softer than normal. "I just want to make a good impression."

Regina nodded, understanding the need to be accepted by Cora all too well—and Emma hadn't even met her yet.

"If it's any consolation, my father would have loved you," Regina told her girlfriend, glancing over to make brief eye contact.

"What was he like?" Emma asked. Regina had told her that her father was gone, but not much beyond that.

"He was my favorite person in the world when I was a child," Regina said. "While I realize now he could've done more to step in while Mother was criticizing me, he loved me and he always made sure I knew it. He had a great sense of humor and he's the one who made me love English so much."

Emma was silent for a moment before responding. "Your father sounds like a great man… I really wish I could have met him."

Regina reached out and intertwined her fingers with Emma's giving them a squeeze. "Yeah, me too."

The two then sat in comfortable silence and before long they were pulling in front of one of the nicest apartment buildings on the Upper East Side.

"Wow," Emma breathed in awe. "You weren't kidding when you said your family had a lot of money."

Regina grimaced. "I can't say it wasn't nice to grow up so privileged, but Mother does have a way of showing it off frequently that I don't quite agree with. This party being one of those occasions."

"Well… I guess we better go in," Emma said hesitantly.

Regina gave her hand another squeeze before letting go and beginning to get out of the car.

"Remember, any time you want to leave just say the word," she said quietly as they entered the building. They could hear Christmas music and voices down the hallway so Regina knew the party was in full swing, and was hoping her mother hadn't had too much to drink yet.

Taking a deep breath, Regina opened the door and let Emma go in before her, smiling a little at the wonder on her girlfriend's face. The apartment was decorated with only the finest furniture so it was a little overwhelming at first sight.

"Regina!" a voice called from the crowd. Regina looked around, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was just Mary Margaret.

Her stepsister made a beeline towards them and Regina stepped forward to hug her… only to be bypassed with Mary Margaret going straight towards Emma.

"You must be Emma!" she squealed, pulling Emma into a tight hug. "Oh Regina she's even prettier than you described!"

Emma blushed immediately, while also awkwardly hugging Mary Margaret back.

"I'm assuming you're Mary Margaret," Emma said, with a slight laugh.

"Okay let her go now, I think you've made her uncomfortable enough," Regina interjected in a dry tone.

Immediately Mary Margaret let go and started apologizing profusely. "Oh I'm so sorry! I just love hugs and I was so excited to meet you-"

Emma laughed for real this time, "It's okay, really. I was just a bit surprised."

Regina cleared her throat, turning the attention on herself. "What? No hug for your sister?"

"Of course you get a hug," Mary Margaret said, pulling Regina into an even tighter hug and whispering, "she's a keeper" before letting go.

Regina blushed and cleared her throat before speaking again. "So where's David? Usually you guys are attached at the hip."

Mary Margaret hit Regina's arm lightly, with a small scoff. "Oh stop it, you know that's not true. And you actually just missed him; he has to work tonight so he could only come for a little bit."

"David's your fiancé right?" Emma asked, joining back in the conversation.

Mary Margaret nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, but we've got nothing for the wedding planned yet. It's a nightmare!" she continued speaking while taking Emma by the arm, leading her over to the food and leaving Regina alone.

Emma looked back at her girlfriend over her shoulder, but Regina just shot her a smile and a nod letting her know it was okay.

….

A while later and there was still no sign of Cora, which was starting to worry Regina. Her and Emma had lost Mary Margaret to the crowd at some point, and were now just sitting on the couch together talking softly.

"Regina, dear," A voice said from behind them, making Emma's blood run cold.

The two slowly turned around and saw Cora standing behind the couch, a smile plastered to her face.

"And you must be Regina's new girlfriend," she said in a sickly sweet voice.

Emma rushed to stand up, and held her hand out for Cora to shake, "I'm- I'm Emma, Emma Swan. It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Mills."

"Cora, please," she responded; only briefly giving Emma's hand a shake. She quite obviously looked Emma over, face twisting in slight disapproval. "So Emma, what do you do?"

"Well I'm a student at NYU, just like Regina. I'm majoring in art currently, and I hope to open my own gallery one day," Emma said, trying to sound as confident as possible.

"A student? So you'll be graduating this May?"

"Yes ma'am," Emma replied.

"So do you think marriage is in the future? What about kids, how do you feel about them?" Cora asked, ignoring Regina's warning look.

While Emma looked extremely uncomfortable, she was clearly trying to stay unaffected. "I mean Regina and I haven't been seeing each other for very long, but I do like her very much and my intentions towards her are completely honorable."

"And kids? How do you expect to have a family?" Cora pried.

"Um… we would find a way," Emma replied. Regina noticed that Emma still looked uncomfortable, but also almost looked like she was still holding something back. Before she could question it, however, Cora spoke up again, breaking Regina out of her thoughts.

"Well… I guess Regina has gone a slight step up from last time," Cora said, glancing at Regina.

"Mother, please," Regina warned.

"I'm just saying, at least she's a student and seems to have a future," Cora replied. "Not like-"

"Mother!" Regina interrupted.

Seeing the scene rising and wanting to diffuse it before anyone else noticed, Mary Margaret quickly made her way over.

"Hey, is everything okay over here?" she asked, putting a reassuring hand on Regina's back.

"Everything is perfectly fine, dear, you can go back to the party," Cora said, dismissing Mary Margaret.

Mary Margaret's hand was still on Regina's back, and she could feel her shaking in anger. Looking over at Emma she saw that she also looked extremely uncomfortable, and Mary Margaret knew that Cora must have been interrogating her.

Before she could say anything, Regina spoke up.

"I'm sorry Mother, but we're leaving now," she said, the anger clear in her voice.

Cora scoffed, "Just because I asked a few innocent questions? You're going to have to toughen up and forget the past one of these days Regina."

Ignoring her mother, Regina grabbed Emma's arm and started walking them away. "I'll talk to you another time, Mother," Regina called behind her in a cold voice.

Grabbing their coats Regina rushed her and Emma out of the apartment and outside, where it had begun to snow.

"Regina! Hey, Regina, calm down!" Emma pleaded, taking hold of Regina's arm and trying to get her to stop walking.

"I'm sorry Emma but I knew this was going to be a bad idea," Regina said, breaking free of Emma's hold and moving around to the driver's side of the car to get in.

Emma quickly got into the passenger side and looked over at Regina with a hurt expression as Regina started the car and started driving.

"I thought you said it was going to be fine? You really regret bringing me that much?"

Regina sighed, "No, you were fine Emma. It's my mother that I'm angry with. I just _knew_ she would start prying and cause problems."

"Hey," Emma said, throwing her hands up. "She just asked a couple questions. I didn't think she really caused any problems."

"Well, maybe not problems, but she certainly did reinforce some questions I have," Regina said after a beat of silence.

Emma's eyes widened briefly, before she neutralized her expression. "What are you talking about?"

"You're hiding something from me," Regina replied. "You've _been_ hiding something from me, and at first I tried not to let it bother me, but you told my mother that you could marry me and yet you still aren't trusting me with some big secret?"

"I'm not hiding anything from you," Emma argued, although her voice faltered briefly.

"Yes you are!" Regina exclaimed.

"Well what about you?" Emma asked, getting defensive now. "What was your mother talking about back there?"

"Nothing," Regina muttered. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."

Emma scoffed, "Clearly it was something if we had to leave because of it."

"She was over-stepping her boundaries, that's why we had to leave," Regina protested. She looked over at Emma, not noticing that the light in front of her was turning red.

Emma opened her mouth to respond when suddenly Regina's face was lit up with artificial light, and her expression turned to one of horror.

"Emma!" and the sound of a horn blaring was the last thing she heard before everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Had a burst of inspiration and got this written in about an hour so hopefully this is satisfying for now! A big thank you to the people who keep reviewing, and an even bigger thank you to my best friend Genevieve who has been helping me through the whole story, but especially this chapter. I'm not sure how much of the story is left, so please let me know if there's anything you want to see and what you think :)**

Regina paced back and forth in the waiting room, anxiously waiting for the doctor to update her on Emma's condition. Remarkably, Regina herself had just needed a few stitches on the forehead and would be incredibly sore for the next few days, but Emma had taken the full force of the impact.

Once the doctors had taken care of Regina, she was able to take Emma's phone and call Ruby, but couldn't give her any information yet.

_I should have been looking_, Regina thought to herself. _This is my fault. If I had just seen the red light-_

With a choked sob, Regina collapsed into one of the chairs, putting her head in her hands.

_If anything happens to her I'll never forgive myself…_

"Ms. Mills?" a voice said, breaking Regina out of her thoughts.

Regina jumped up, seeing the doctor in front of her.

"Is she okay?" Regina rushed out. "She's okay right? She's going to be fine?"

The doctor sighed, "Unfortunately there was a lot of damage. The right side of her body was smashed, resulting in a breakage in both her arm and leg. There was some internal bleeding, but luckily we were able to stop it. Her brain also doesn't appear to have any swelling, but we're not sure when she's going to wake up. After a trauma like this the brain usually shuts down to protect the body from the extreme amount of pain it's going through."

"But… she's going to wake up, right?" Regina asked, voice breaking on the last word.

"There's a strong chance she will wake up, yes," the doctor replied diplomatically. "But only time will tell."

As another sob broke free from Regina, the doctor put a hand on her shoulder in brief comfort.

"I'm sorry," he said. "The nurses are moving her from the ICU into a room now so you can go sit with her. You just have to have faith in her now."

Regina nodded, "Thank you."

A nurse came and led Regina to Emma's temporary room. As she walked into the doorway she had to stop herself from collapsing again.

Emma was barely recognizable. Her face was marred with bruises and cuts, and the entire right side of her body was wrapped in bandages. The only thing that seemed safe was her hair.

Regina let out an unbelieving laugh. _Of course her perfect princess hair would be fine_.

She slowly made her way to the bed, and pulled a chair up close. She looked up at the nurse still in the room.

"Is it… Can I touch her?" she asked hesitantly.

The nurse gave her a sympathetic smile. "Of course you can, honey. If you hold her and talk to you she'll be sure to hear you and make her way back. People in love will always find their way back to each other."

Tears welled up in Regina's eyes again. Love… it was too soon for love. Yet, she certainly felt it. The fear she felt tonight at the thought of losing Emma was too much to bear, and she knew now she could never let her go.

The nurse patted Regina's shoulder before leaving the room and quietly shutting the door behind her.

Regina reached over and grabbed Emma's hand, gently interlacing their fingers.

"You have to wake up Emma," she whispered. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you, and I'm sorry that I got us into that crash. I'll do anything to make it up to you. I'll tell you what my mother was talking about… it doesn't even seem important anymore."

She let out a dark chuckle, "I'm sure my mother will be happy to hear about this. Two loves gone tragically wrong… Please, don't prove her right. Please just wake up for me, Emma. I… I lo-"

Regina's words were cut off as the door to the room burst open. Ruby ran in with a sleepy looking little boy on her hip. He opened his eyes, familiar green eyes… Was that-?

"Mommy!" the little boy yelled, confirming Regina's sudden suspicions.

"Emma! Oh my God, Emma!" Ruby exclaimed, rushing over to the bed. She looked over to Regina, where tearstains were clearly evident. "Is she okay? What happened?"

Regina hastily wiped her eyes, looking at the little boy once more before focusing her attention on Ruby.

"We were driving home… I didn't think about the snow. We were arguing, and I missed the red light and I should have been looking but I wasn't, and oh God, I'm so sorry," Regina blurted out, tears coming once more. "I'm so so sorry, this was all my fault."

Ruby could see the anguish in Regina's face, the regret, and the… love. She reached out and took Regina's free hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Regina, don't worry about it. Emma's going to be okay, right?" she asked, her own eyes welling up.

Regina nodded shakily, "The doctor said she should be fine. He said that when people go through this much trauma their brains basically shut down so the pain doesn't overwhelm them. He said she should be waking up…"

The two women looked at Emma, hoping beyond belief that she would be waking up soon.

A small voice piped up, clearly scared. "Mommy's gonna be okay? Mommy's hurt?"

Ruby turned her attention back to Henry, cupping his face with her hands gently. "Mommy's gonna be just fine. She got in a little accident, so she looks kind of scary now, right?"

Henry nodded, his eyes straying from Ruby's briefly to look back at his mother.

"Hey," Ruby said gently, turning his attention back to her. "Mommy looks a little scary, but she's still Mommy under there, okay? And she's gonna need a lot of love from you when she wakes up."

Henry's lip started to quiver a little. "But why isn't she awake now? It's Christmas, she should be awake!"

Ruby sighed, running her hands through Henry's hair. "I know buddy. She'll wake up soon, I promise." She kissed his forehead, and then closed her eyes, sending up a prayer for that to be true.

Regina watched this interaction with fascination. This boy was clearly Emma's, but she imagined Ruby was like a parent to him as well with the completely maternal way she was acting towards him. This must have been what Emma was hiding, although Regina couldn't imagine why Emma would hide it from her. She knew that Regina wanted to be a teacher—she loved kids.

Ruby looked over at Regina and could practically see the thoughts running through her head. Henry, noticing his godmother's distraction, also looked over and finally noticed there was another person in the room besides his mother.

"Aunt Ruby?" he whispered, although it was loud enough for Regina to hear him clearly. "Who is that lady holding Mommy's hand?"

Ruby chuckled a watery laugh. She turned Henry around in her lap so he was facing Regina.

"Henry, this is Mommy's new friend Regina. Can you say hi?" Ruby prompted.

Henry burrowed into Ruby a little bit, but offered up a shy smile and a soft, "Hi."

Regina smiled immediately back. Along with his eyes that she had noticed before, his dimples were all Emma. "It's nice to meet you Henry," she told him in a gentle voice.

"You're Mommy's new friend?" he asked. When Regina nodded he continued, "Do you love her?" in an innocent voice.

Ruby choked in surprise, but didn't discourage the question, curious to hear the answer herself.

Regina stayed quiet for a second, but finally answered.

"I do," she whispered looking over to Emma as her hand absentmindedly stroked Emma's.

The room was silent for a minute, but then Ruby spoke up again. "I'm gonna go find a doctor and see about bringing cots or something in here so we can all stay. Henry, will you be okay staying here with Regina?" she asked, making eye contact briefly with Regina to see her nod in affirmation that that was okay.

After Henry nodded as well, she carefully transferred him to Regina's lap and left the room.

As Henry got situated, Regina noticed that there was a cast on his arm as well. "Did you hurt yourself too, Henry?" she asked.

He looked up at her with his big green eyes and nodded, still too shy to really say anything.

"Well, I'm sure once your Mommy wakes up you guys can get matching stickers for your casts. How does that sound?"

Henry smiled widely, showing off his dimples once again. "Yeah!" he said, cheering up a little bit.

Regina smiled back, and got more comfortable in the chair, preparing to keep Henry distracted until he hopefully fell asleep.

…

Black. That was all Emma could see around her. It was all consuming, suffocating, and she couldn't figure a way to get out of it. Her body felt weightless, and she couldn't figure out which way was up or down.

As she stayed there, in this place that wasn't really a place, flashes started to come to her.

_A smile, and a hand held out to shake hers. "Neal," the voice said…_

_The voice was familiar now, as were the hands wrapped around her waist. Love. She was feeling love for the first time, and she wasn't ever going to let it go…_

_Now she was late, and she was feeling panicked. This wasn't part of the plan; she was too young for a kid…_

_"__What do you mean you're leaving? You promised you would stay…"_

_Heartbreak, for the first time. Ruby's voice in her ear, telling her everything would be okay…_

_Pain. All she could feel was pain. Her body felt like it was being ripped from the inside out, the only anchor being Ruby's hand wrapped tightly around her own. Ruby's voice encouraging her that she could do this…_

_Relief. A cry. The most beautiful cry in the world…_

_"__It's a boy, Emma! You did it."…_

_A new weight in her arms. A baby. Her baby. The new light of her life…_

_A smile, showing off dimples that belonged to her. A first laugh… first steps…_

_"__Hi!" a first word that was not "mama," but still a reason to be proud of her son…_

_Getting accepted into college. Moving in with Ruby. Watching Henry grow up together. Making art. Making Henry art. Christmases, birthdays, Halloween…_

The memories were coming faster and faster, and a warm feeling was starting to envelope Emma, making her sleepy. She wanted more of that feeling… she needed to be closer to it…

_Eyes. Green eyes. Her son's eyes._

_Another set of eyes. The most beautiful pair of eyes she's ever seen. Love, expressed in those eyes… she had to get back to them_.

Regina! Emma snapped into awareness, the warm feeling fading. The accident; they had been in an accident. And now she had to get back to her son and Ruby, and more importantly, she had to get back to Regina….

…

Regina opened her eyes, forgetting for a minute where she was. She felt a weight on her lap and looked down, seeing Henry, sound asleep. Across the bed was Ruby, curled up in a chair and also asleep.

Looking around for the source of what woke her up, her eyes landed on Emma. Was she?

"Emma?" she asked quietly, leaning closer to her girlfriend. "Emma, can you hear me?"

…

_Emma? Emma, can you hear me?_

Emma could hear Regina's voice. It was getting closer… she just had to…

…

Suddenly, Emma's eyes blinked open for a second and closed. Then opened again, looking from side to side before finally locking onto Regina's.

….

_Regina._


	9. Chapter 9

******A/N Hey everyone- sorry it's taken so long to update! As I'm sure is true with everyone else, school is crazy, but I have a free week until finals and then an entire month after that to get this story done! I'm also sorry if this isn't the update that everyone wanted, but don't worry, this story will have a happy ending :)**

_Regina._

"Emma," Regina gasped, as their eyes locked. "Emma, can you hear me?"

While Emma's eyes were open, she still didn't seem to be completely aware of what was happening.

Regina shifted forward in her seat, conscious to not move Henry too much so he wouldn't wake up yet. The movement did however seem to wake Ruby.

"Regina?" she asked groggily, before looking over to Emma as well and also seeing that her eyes were open.

"Emma!" she stood up and leaned over her best friend. "Oh God Emma you're awake," she started to cry.

Seeing Ruby seemed to jolt Emma into complete awareness, and she opened her mouth to speak.

"What-?" she rasped out, her voice dry from being unconscious.

"Shh," Ruby shushed. She spotted a glass of water that a nurse must have left on the bedside and picked it up, easing the straw into Emma's mouth. "Careful," she warned, making sure Emma wasn't drinking too much. Once her friend seemed to be done, she put the glass back and instead took Emma's hand.

"You were in an accident," she said gently. "You and Regina. Right now it's your right side of the body that has the most damage, but I know there were some other complications as well. The doctor said you should be fine now. You're going to be fine," she finished, almost reassuring herself as much as Emma.

"Regina?" Emma asked.

Ruby moved back out of Emma's line of vision so Emma could see her girlfriend. As their eyes met, Emma started to smile, but then she caught sight of Henry on Regina's lap and her eyes darted to Ruby.

Regina watched, as the two seemed to have the silent conversation that only those completely attuned to the other could do. Finally Ruby let out a deep sigh and said, "What would you have rather I done?"

Emma looked back to Regina, then back to Ruby.

"Just take him now, please. I need to talk to Regina," Emma said, her voice getting stronger with each sentence.

Ruby scoffed, "Uh, how about I get a doctor? You should still be checked out."

Emma shook her head adamantly. "That can wait. Just take him and try not to let him wake up."

"You know he's going to be upset when he hears you woke up without him being awake," Ruby shot back.

"Not if you don't tell him," Emma protested. "I just need to deal with this, and then I can take care of my son."

Ruby sighed, seemingly in defeat. Her best friend was stubborn as hell, and while she didn't like it, Ruby knew she wouldn't change Emma's mind.

She turned towards Regina, who had been watching the two interact with deep fascination. With practiced care, Ruby maneuvered Henry from Regina's lap into her own arms without stirring the child in the slightest. She gave Emma one last look before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

As the door clicked shut, Emma and Regina made eye contact once more. Unlike the comfortable silences they had grown used to over the past few weeks, however, this was uncomfortable, as neither of them knew how to start.

"So," Emma began.

"So…" Regina replied. "You have a son."

Emma winced. "Yeah, I do."

"That's what you've been hiding from me this whole time?" Regina asked, her voice slightly accusing.

"Yes," Emma said. "I mean can you really blame me?"

Regina huffed. "Yes, kind of. You know I love kids, so I don't think you'd believe I would really reject him. We already established how strong our feelings have gotten for each other. I really don't know why you wouldn't have told me; I mean at least tonight—I picked you up at your house for God's sakes! That would have been the perfect time."

The more Regina talked, the more annoyed Emma became.

"You don't get it," Emma protested, voice hard. "Yes, I really like you. And I meant it when I said it was more than anyone I had ever been with before. But that doesn't mean there aren't risks. Things happen, people split up. And I don't want that to happen with Henry in the picture. He _cannot_ get hurt."

"You really think I would hurt him?" Regina asked, not happy with where the conversation was going.

Emma sighed, frustrated. "Maybe? I don't know. Ever since Henry was born it's just been me. Me and Ruby. I've never dated anyone. I've never even been _close_ to dating anyone because Henry is the most important thing in my life and he is always my first priority. You are the first person that I've taken a risk on and now look at us—two weeks and we're already fighting."

"Because you lied to me!" Regina retorted, her voice slightly raised.

"Because I had to!" Emma replied, her voice rising as well. "I just wanted to see where this was going! And clearly, you've lied to me too. I mean isn't that what we were fighting about in the car in the first place anyway? Huh? What about that, are you actually gonna own up to it now?"

Regina groaned, pulling her fingers through her hair roughly. "I already told you that was nothing."

"It's obviously something if it got you so upset with your mother that we had to leave," Emma shot back.

"Fine? You really want to know?" Regina asked, her voice hard.

"Yes, I want to know. That's what I've been saying this whole time!" Emma said, ignoring Regina's clearly elevated body language and tone.

"His name was Daniel," Regina began, "And he was the love of my life. Or so I thought," she laughed bitterly.

"When I was in high school I would have to go to function with my mother to help make her look good. Daniel was a server at these functions, and at one of them he spilled a drink on me. Mother was furious of course, but once she left the two of us started talking and it escalated from there. I was seventeen and naïve. I had no idea what my mother was really capable of."

Regina's voice started to lose its emotion, and Emma finally realized what this story was doing to her.

"Regina," she tried to say, but Regina interrupted her.

"No. You wanted to hear this, so here you go," Regina said. Her voice was nothing like the caring tone Emma had come to know it as, and that scared her.

With her eyes focused on nothing, Regina continued the story.

"The two of us exchanged numbers, and like all first loves, it grew rapidly. We were infatuated with each other, and while I thought I was hiding it from my mother, I was not as sneaky as I likened myself to be. At one of the next functions there was an accident—at least that's what they called it. I knew better. Mother had set the whole thing up, intending to ruin Daniel's life. I also believed that she had ruined mine, but Mother wouldn't stand for that. She pretended like it never happened, so eventually, I had to forget about it as well."

Regina's eyes began to fill with tears, emotion finally coming back to her voice and making it crack.

"I tried to see him afterwards, in the hospital. But instead of the tearful reunion I was hoping for, it was just filled with tears. Daniel blamed me. He said it was my fault, and that he hated me. Such hurtful things coming from the boy that I loved—well, you can imagine it wasn't all that great. I haven't seen or heard from him since."

Emma sat in shock; she had no idea what to say.

"Regina," she tried again, reaching for the girl's hand.

Regina moved her hand away before standing up completely. "I hope you're happy now," her voice was hard once again. "I hope that a man who hasn't been in my life for five years is more important than a child who has been in your life for the past three." She said with scathing sarcasm.

Before Emma could respond she turned away and started walking towards the door.

"I'll tell Ruby she can come back in and call the doctor now. Goodbye Emma," Regina said over her shoulder before walking out.

As soon as she was out of sight, Emma's breath rushed out in a sob.

_What have I done?_ She thought miserably. She tried to wipe her face, but when she remembered that she couldn't move her right arm she started crying harder out of frustration.

"Emma!" she heard Ruby's voice gasp, before her friend was rushing back into the room. Henry was still asleep on her hip, and she sent him gently in a chair before leaning over her best friend.

"Oh Emma," she said sadly, "What happened?"

"She hates me," Emma choked out bitterly. "I knew that I would ruin it, and I did."

Ruby ran her fingers through Emma's hair, trying to give her just a little bit a comfort. "I'm sure she doesn't hate you," Ruby reassured. "It's been a hard night for both of you, and I think you just need to sleep on it and talk later."

Emma shook her head, but didn't bother responding. Ruby let out a sigh before reaching for Henry once again, and carefully placing him in the bed next to Emma, knowing that the comfort of her son was what she really needed right now.

As best as she could with her left arm, Emma wrapped it around Henry and held him close, waiting for her tears to stop and sleep to come once more.

_I have to make this right_ was the last thing she thought, before finally succumbing back to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Okay here's the next chapter- still not exactly resolved, but please give me some feedback to let me know what you think. I'm also not sure how much more this story has left, so if there's anything you'd like to see just let me know :)**

Regina stormed out of the hospital, only pausing briefly to tell Ruby that she was leaving. When she stepped outside, however, she realized two things—number one, it was absolutely freezing. And number two; she didn't have her car, as it was currently smashed to pieces.

"Some Christmas this is," she muttered, before pulling out her phone and calling Mary Margaret.

Regina listened to the dial tone and eventually got voicemail. She looked at the time on her phone—2am. _Dammit_.

She tried again, and right before she was about to hang up Mary Margaret answered.

"Hello? Regina? Are you okay?"

Regina sighed, "I need you to come pick me up."

"What? Why?" Mary Margaret exclaimed.

_It's Regina_, she heard Mary Margaret say softly to David. _No, I don't know that's why I just asked_.

"Are you okay?" Mary Margaret asked again.

"We were in an accident," Regina told her stepsister. "Emma's best friend and her… son," Regina gritted her teeth, "Are here with her now, and I would just really like to come home."

"An accident?!" Mary Margaret shrieked, not seeming to register the part about the son.

"_Yes,_" Regina snapped. "I already said I was okay. Please just come pick me up, and _no_, I don't want to talk about it."

A soft sigh was heard through the phone before Mary Margaret answered.

"Okay," she said quietly. "I'll be there as quickly as I can."

"Wait!" Regina said, stopping Mary Margaret from hanging up. "Be careful."

"I will," Mary Margaret replied, her tone soothing. "I'll see you soon."

After she hung up Regina put her phone in her pocket and then rubbed her hands together for warmth. While she was thankful the snow had stopped, she wished she were wearing warmer clothes. There was no way she wanted to go back inside and risk running into Ruby, though.

The girl seemed very protective of Emma and Regina was sure that Ruby would have more than a few words to say to her.

_Even though her best friend is the one that lied to me_, Regina thought bitterly.

While she had calmed down some, Regina was still quite angry with Emma. Not only that, but she was also deeply hurt that the girl said she couldn't trust her. Sure, two weeks wasn't a lot, but Regina really thought they had something special…

_I shouldn't have let my guard down. Nothing good ever comes from trusting people_.

Soon enough, however, Regina was broken out of her thoughts by a car pulling up in front of her. Mary Margaret unlocked the doors and Regina quickly got in, turning the heaters in the car towards her immediately.

"Hey," Mary Margaret said gently. "Are you-?"

"Still don't want to talk about it," Regina cut her off. "Can we just go back to your place? It's been a long night and I'd really just like to get some sleep."

Mary Margaret nodded, saying nothing. She was happy Regina wanted to come back to her place though—she didn't think her stepsister should be left alone in this state, and she was glad Regina had acknowledged that as well, even if she wasn't ready to talk about it.

The rest of the drive was spent in silence, with Regina resting her head on the window. Although she didn't sleep, she was ready to crawl into the ridiculously comfortable guest bed and Mary Margaret and David's apartment.

When they got into the apartment luckily David was still in bed; Regina didn't want to talk to him either.

"The towels are in the linen closet if you want to take a shower," Mary Margaret whispered. "I'll get some extra clothes and put them on the guest bed."

"Thank you," Regina replied softly. She turned around and put her arms around her stepsister, hugging her close.

Mary Margaret returned the hug, knowing Regina had to be really hurting to be seeking any kind of affection; she wasn't normally a very touchy-feely person.

After a moment Regina pulled back and wiped the few tears that had gathered in her eyes.

"Goodnight," she said, her voice slightly husky.

Mary Margaret cupped Regina's face and gave her a small smile. "Goodnight," she replied. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

Regina just nodded, then made her way to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Once she got out she moved into the guest bedroom, glad to see that Mary Margaret had laid out her most comfortable t-shirt and sweatpants.

As she put her old clothes on the dresser in the room, her phone fell to the floor and lit up with a text message.

_Emma_.

Regina hesitated, unsure if she should open the message or not. _This could make everything worse_, she thought. _Or everything better…_

Shaking her head, she decided to just read the message. No sense in getting into a panic over something that was already turned to shit; or so Regina thought.

Hands only slightly shaking, she unlocked the phone and was met with just two words.

**I'm sorry.**

Regina let out a shuddering breath, tears forming in her eyes once more. _She's sorry? Well that's great, but it still doesn't change that she lied to me…_

Shaking her head once more, Regina decided to just let it go. As much as she didn't want to, she knew that if she talked to Mary Margaret in the morning it would help. For now, she just needed to sleep.

She lay down on the bed, the events of the night immediately catching up to her and making her fall asleep instantly.

The next thing Regina knew, she was woken up by the sunlight streaming in through the windows. It took her a second, but soon she remembered where she was and all that had happened the previous night.

Regina let out a large sigh; it was time to face the situation and get perspective from Mary Margaret. She could smell coffee coming from under the door and knew that Mary Margaret and David would already be awake.

Getting up from the bed with a groan, she made her way over to the door and opened it. She could then hear voices softly coming from the kitchen, and followed the sound to the doorway.

David noticed her first, giving her a soft smile and a blessedly subdued, "Good morning."

"Morning," Regina all but groaned.

"Coffee is right over there," Mary Margaret said, much more chipper than her husband. She was naturally a morning person.

After pouring herself a cup of coffee, Regina went to join the two at the table. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Mary Margaret couldn't stand it anymore.

"So are you ready to tell us what happened yet?"

Regina stared at them for a second before answering. "Emma has a son."

Clearly not expecting that answer, Mary Margaret started choking on her drink.

"What?" she gasped.

Regina nodded grimly. "I was sitting with her in the hospital; she still hadn't woken up, but I was talking to her, apologizing for my mother and the accident. I was ready to tell her I loved her and then her best friend walked in with this little boy… her son."

"Oh honey," Mary Margaret said sympathetically. "Well I'm sure she had a good reason for not telling you."

"Yeah," Regina let out a bitter laugh. "She said it's because she doesn't trust me."

"Really? Emma said that?" Mary Margaret questioned, sounding a little skeptical.

David, who had been sitting silently, finally spoke up, looking like the epitome of a light bulb moment.

"Hold on a second," he said. "Emma… does she have long blonde hair? Stunning green eyes that are the perfect match of her son's?"

Regina gaped at him, "You know her?!"

"Well I don't _know her_ know her, but she came into the hospital a few weeks ago. Her son got hurt playing around on the playground. I'm not sure if you had started seeing her yet, but I do remember thinking the two of you would be a good match," David said, matter of factly.

"You're telling me the cast on that kid's arm… that was put on by you?" Regina said in disbelief.

David chuckled, clearly not seeing the severity of the situation. "Yeah, small world right?"

Regina, however, was just getting more annoyed. "Even _you_ knew about the kid before me," she muttered, not caring that it was just because he was David's patient.

"Hey," David said softly. "I know you feel betrayed, and you have every right to, but Emma's friend is the one who brought him into the emergency room first and at first I thought she was the mother from how they were interacting. But then Emma came rushing in, with all the protection of a mama bear looking after her cub and there was no doubt in my mind that she was the mother. Through the brief five minutes that I spent with her even I could tell that that kid is her entire world; you have to understand that parents never want to jeopardize their children."

Regina sighed, thinking over David's words. Emma did say that she had never been in a relationship before in order to protect Henry's feelings.

Mary Margaret, recognizing the look on Regina's face, spoke up again. "How much did you really let her explain about the situation?"

"We may have started fighting before she really got the chance to explain further that she just wanted to keep it from me…" Regina replied, her face scrunched up.

"See?" Mary Margaret replied softly. "I think you should go talk to her again, and try to work through this some more."

"But," Regina interjected, her voice becoming much quieter. "She also asked me about Daniel."

Mary Margaret and David paused, looking first at each other, and then at Regina in shock. Then, Mary Margaret seemed to gain more understanding.

"That's why you were so upset isn't it? Because you were talking about Daniel?"

Regina nodded grimly. "That's what we were fighting about in the car—right before we crashed. She wanted to know what Cora was talking about and I didn't want to get into it. Some good that did, huh?" she said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"The crash wasn't your fault," David said, putting his hand on Regina's. When she gave him a questioning look, he gave her an awkward look before explaining, "I called the hospital this morning and they directed me to the cop in charge of what happened. Your light had only just turned red—the person who hit you was already running a red light, and they were highly intoxicated from Christmas celebrations."

"How in the world did you find all this out?" Regina asked in shock.

"I may or may not have told them I was your husband," David replied, looking a little guilty. "Your car is also unfortunately beyond repair…"

Regina sat in silence for a bit, processing the information. Before they could say anything more, however, her phone started to ring. As she looked at the screen her heart started to race—it was Emma.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**** Here's the next chapter! But I've got finals next week and then I'm going on vacation for a week over Christmas and I won't have my laptop so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next. So please leave reviews on what you think and what you want to see :)**

"Neal," was the first thing Emma said when Regina answered the phone, moving back into the guest room.

"What?" Regina asked incredulously.

"Neal," Emma repeated, "Was Henry's father."

Regina didn't know what to say, but luckily Emma took the silence to continue.

"I was seventeen and he was my first boyfriend… and of course my first love. Until now he was-he was my only love," Emma took a shuddering breath before continuing. "I was also young and naïve, and he made me believe that we would be together forever. He promised he would never leave me, and I believed him.

"When I first realized I was late I didn't know what to do. I mean I had never had parents—how could I possibly be a good mother? Ruby was my first call and she told me she'd support me with whatever I wanted to do… she even told me she'd stay with me to tell Neal but I insisted on doing it on my own. I mean sure it was a surprise, but I was delusional in believing that he really did love me no matter what, and we could raise this child together.

"So I told Neal one night at dinner. We didn't have a lot, but I still managed to make us something decent. At first he seemed supportive; at least to my blind eye. But he started pulling away, until one day I came home from my waitressing job and all of his bags were packed. He left and I haven't seen him since. While Ruby has been with me the whole way, Neal is the reason I've never trusted anyone. I wasn't lying when I said I haven't dated because of Henry, but it also wasn't the complete truth… it's because of Neal, too. But you changed that and I- I messed it up. And I'm sorry."

Regina could fully hear Emma crying on the other end of the phone now, but she still wasn't quite sure what to say. How could she have known?

"I understand if you still don't want to see me anymore," Emma whispered. "But I just wanted you to know."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Emma said in a resigned voice, "Okay, I guess that means-"

"No, wait!" Regina exclaimed. "Just wait. I need time to think."

She sighed; Mary Margaret was right when she told Regina that she needed to hear Emma's side of things, but now she still wasn't sure what to do.

"I'll call you later okay?" Regina said. _One way or the other…_

There was a pause before Emma answered. "Okay. And I also wanted to say thank you, you know for staying with me at the hospital that whole time. And being good to Henry even though you were blindsided."

"It's no problem," Regina replied curtly.

"I guess I'll… talk to you later," Emma said.

She sounded tired, Regina noted, and while it must have been from the accident, Regina imagined that part of it could be because of her as well. That feeling didn't sit well with her.

Regina shook her head, happy Emma couldn't see her.

"Goodbye," she said softly, ending the call.

As she put her phone beside her on the bed, she lay back, wondering what she was going to do.

….

Emma sat in her hospital bed, a frown prominent on her face. She knew Ruby was right when she told her to explain things to Regina and give her time, but that phone call didn't give her much hope.

She was glad Regina had answered, but Emma hoped she didn't need much more time. She also wasn't sure if Regina noticed her mention of love…

"Ugh!" Emma groaned, running only her left hand through her hair and then staring at the right side of her body in even more frustration. If she couldn't even be angry properly how was she going to last six weeks in these casts?

_Not to mention the physical therapy_, Emma though bitterly. _And how expensive it is…_

Soon enough Ruby walked in with Henry, breaking Emma out of her thoughts.

"Mommy!" the little boy cried.

"Henry!" Emma exclaimed back, putting on a happy face for her son. He was all that really mattered now.

Ruby set him down gently on Emma's left side before giving her friend a quick kiss on the cheek and sitting down.

"You're hurt Mommy," Henry said, his lower lip trembling a little.

"I am," Emma answered in a serious tone. "But you know what would make me a whole lot better?"

Henry shook his head with a somber expression.

"How about a kiss from my favorite person?" Emma told him, glad to see his eyes lighting up at her answer.

The little boy scrambled up on his knees to give his mother a sloppy kiss on the cheek, before flopping down on her chest.

Ruby noticed Emma wince briefly from the pain in her ribs, but then she wrapped her left arm around her son and breathed in his scent, closing her eyes for a second before meeting Ruby's gaze.

"All better?" Ruby joked, her voice not as upbeat as it was normally.

Emma gave her a grim smile, aware of the fact that Henry couldn't see from the position on her chest.

"Of course," Emma responded. "How could anyone not be after a Henry kiss?" she said, poking her son's sides gently. She was rewarded with a small giggle, which in turn made her own expression light up briefly.

Ruby observed the two for a second before speaking again.

"I'm gonna go find the doctor so I can ask about your physical therapy," she said. Emma knew that Ruby was determined to help her pay for it, and she was letting it slide for now but ultimately she knew she would have to scrape the money together herself.

As Ruby walked out of the room, Emma shifted her and Henry's positions to be more comfortable and then began rubbing his back.

"So what did Santa bring you?" she asked him, feigning excitement as if she didn't already know. Ruby had brought him home early this morning to receive his presents, and while she promised to take pictures Emma was still heartbroken she didn't get to see his face. She thought it would be better than making him wait, however, so now she could just hear him tell her about it.

Henry's eyes lit up and while he excitedly told her all about his Christmas morning, Emma let his voice calm her down and forget about Regina for now.

….

A few hours later Regina arrived at the hospital, driven by Mary Margaret. David took it upon himself to look for a new car that she could get as quickly as possible, but for now she would have to deal with public transport and relying on her stepsister when possible.

"Are you sure about this?" Mary Margaret asked, putting her hand on Regina's arm.

Regina took a deep breath, and looked up at the hospital.

"Yes," she replied firmly. "This is what I need to do."

"Okay," Mary Margaret said, a bit uncertainly. "Well call me if you need me to come back, okay?"

Regina nodded in response, although she was a bit distracted. She opened the door and got out of the car, murmuring a "Thank you" before she shut the door.

As soon as she walked into the lobby she saw Ruby talking to the doctor with a grim expression on her face. Regina rushed over, hoping something hadn't happened to Emma in the last few hours.

As she got closer, however, they realized they were talking about money.

"The insurance will pay for some, but the physical therapy is ultimately up to Emma," the doctor was saying.

Physical therapy… Regina hadn't even though of that. Although, she supposed, with Emma's right leg essentially shattered, it would be necessary. She hadn't known Emma for long, but she did know that this would be tight for her.

Decision made stronger, Regina straightened up and walked towards Ruby with purpose.

"I'm here to see Emma," she said. "Is she awake?"

"I'm not sure that's for the best," Ruby replied, barely hiding her current disdain for Regina.

Regina sighed, "Look, I know you warned me against hurting her, and I didn't mean to do that. But she hurt me too. And now we need to talk. So is she awake or not?"

Ruby eyed Regina, gauging how serious she was. After a moment she nodded, "She should be. I left her with Henry though so I would proceed carefully."

Regina nodded her understanding then walked towards Emma's room. She pushed the door open slowly, and peaked her head in. The sight she saw was enough to make her heart melt a little bit.

Emma was still lying on the bed with Henry curled into her chest, and the two were sound asleep. Henry's little hand was clutched to Emma's shirt, and her face was pressed into his head. There was no mistaking her unconditional love and protection for her son, even in sleep.

Regina felt a brief pang of shame run through her; she yelled at Emma but hadn't even let her explain herself? It was clear she had been telling the truth…

_Well, I'm here now_, Regina thought, moving towards the chair next to the bed. And she would stay here until Emma woke up again.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**** Okay so I know I said there probably wouldn't be another chapter soon, but it turns out I'm bad at studying for finals so here's a new fluffy chapter for you. Enjoy :)**

Emma slowly woke from sleep, immediately aware of the throbbing pain in her body. She supposed it was time for her regular dose of pain medication. She also became aware of the soft weight on her chest that she recognized as Henry, and then a more unfamiliar weight on her hand.

She opened her eyes quickly at the feeling, and felt her heart stutter at the sight of Regina slumped over the bed holding her hand. She gently squeezed the hand, trying to wake Regina without waking up Henry.

"Wha-?" Regina groaned, before looking around and seeing that Emma was awake. She sat up with a jolt, but kept her hand around Emma's.

"Emma," she breathed out, her eyes filling with tears.

"Regina…?" Emma questioned, nervous, but hopeful. "What are you doing here? I mean not that I'm not glad to see you, of course I'm glad to see you, but I thought you said you-"

Regina chuckled softly; she hadn't realized how much she had missed Emma's rambling in the past two days.

"I know I said I needed time, but really I didn't need that much time," Regina took a deep breath. "Emma, I'm sorry."

"But-"

"No," Regina said. "Please just let me finish.

"I was upset with you for lying to me, but I overreacted, and for that I truly am sorry. I told you all about my past, yelled at you really, but I wouldn't even listen to your explanation. You had good reason to not tell me about Henry—I mean we have only known each other for a few weeks… and, well, Henry certainly is precious enough to protect."

Regina finished talking and gently but hesitantly moved her and Emma's hands to Henry's back. Emma looked at Regina with a watery smile, about to respond when Henry started waking up from the movement.

"Mommy?" he asked, looking up at her with sleepy eyes.

"Hey sleepy head," Emma said gently. "Look who's here to see us."

At that Henry quickly turned around and saw Regina sitting next to the bed, smiling at him. He gave her a shy smile in return, but then burrowed back into Emma's chest.

"You remember Regina right?" Emma said nudging him. "She's Mommy's friend."

Henry nodded softly but didn't say anything else.

"How was your Christmas Henry?" Regina asked him with a small grin. "Did Santa bring you a lot of cool stuff?"

Henry nodded again and gave her a soft, "Yeah."

Emma poked his side, causing him to let out a soft giggle and squirm a little. When Regina saw Emma wince in pain at the movement, she tried to step in once again.

"Hey Henry, I think Mommy needs some more of the medicine that's helping her get better, do you want to come with me while I go find the doctor?" she asked him, holding out her hand.

Henry looked to Emma, who nodded, and then he took Regina's hand, letting her pick him up off the bed and set him back on the ground. Emma mouthed "Thank you" to Regina before they left the room and hoped they would be back quickly.

She was happy that Henry seemed to be reacting relatively well to Regina though. Since she didn't date and he wasn't in school yet, Henry wasn't often around a lot of people. Emma knew it wasn't great for him to be so isolated, but she couldn't help it that she had a hard time trusting others with her son. She just hoped the two of them were faring well alone now, even if it was only to get the doctor.

….

Regina walked out of the room slowly so Henry could easily match her pace. His hand was still in hers, and she was glad that he didn't seem inclined to let go, no matter how shy he was acting.

"So what did you get for Christmas Henry?" Regina asked, hoping he would be a bit more responsive.

"A Spiderman action figure," he mumbled, "Um and a racecar rug and, um, _Frozen_."

"The movie _Frozen_?" Regina asked; she was surprised a little boy would like that movie, but thought it was especially adorable when he nodded with a tiny grin.

"I love Elsa," he said softly. "And Sven!"

"Oh you like the reindeer, huh?" Regina said, laughing at his responsive giggle and nod.

They were now at the nurse's station, where Regina let one of the nurses know that Emma was awake and in need of her pain medicine. Instead of going back to the room right away, however, she had an idea.

"Hey Henry," she asked the little boy. "How would you like to do a small surprise for your mom?"

"Yeah!" he nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay we just have to go downstairs for a few minutes then," she told him. "Can I pick you up to move faster?" she made sure to ask, not sure how the little boy felt about being carried around.

Henry nodded again and reached his arms out for her; as soon as he was settled on Regina's hip he rested his head on her shoulder in comfort. Regina smiled; feeling like her heart was going to melt. Now more than ever she hoped that her and Emma could work things out, because Henry was the most precious child she had ever met and Regina wanted to keep both of them in her life.

As they made their way downstairs Regina found her way to the hospital gift shop.

"Now let's pick out some balloons and flowers you think Mommy will like!" Regina said. She reluctantly put Henry back down so he could pick things out, but he grabbed her hand again before dragging her around the store.

They ended up getting a vase of multicolored wildflowers that had immediately captured Henry's attention, a red balloon because "red was the best", and a giant stuffed swan that Henry had managed to find.

"Like us!" he exclaimed. "Because we're Swans!"

He didn't seem to understand that Regina's last name wasn't also Swan, but she of course had to get the stuffed animal anyway; there was no way she would ever be able to resist that little face now.

Once their purchases were made, the two made their way back upstairs with Henry carrying the swan in one hand and Regina's hand with the other. She carried the flowers and the balloon so Henry wouldn't drop them.

As they arrived back in Emma's room Regina saw that she was sitting up and seemed to be in far less pain than when they left. Ruby was also sitting with her, only now there was a smile on her face as well.

When they walked through the door Emma gasped, spotting the gifts in their hands.

"Regina!" she exclaimed. "You did _not_ have to do this."

"But they're for you Mommy," Henry said innocently. "Just until you can go home and open Santa's presents."

"Yeah Mommy," Regina said mockingly, although the affection was clear in her eyes, "They're for you."

At that tears filled Emma's eyes as a warm feeling rushed through her. Even though she was sitting in a hospital bed from less than ideal circumstances, she really felt that she couldn't be luckier.

…

Hours later and Henry was once again asleep on Regina's lap. She was gently rubbing his back while Emma and Ruby talked softly to each other. The rest of the day had been wonderful—Henry opened up to Regina much more after their brief alone time, and Ruby was acting much friendlier towards her as well now that things with Emma were looking up.

Regina let out a happy sigh and glanced at her phone. It was nearly ten o'clock and she knew that Mary Margaret would be wondering about her. Regina had sent a brief text earlier that things were going well, but not much beyond that.

Thinking about the reaction she would get from her stepsister from the day made Regina groan internally, as did the thought of leaving Emma now. Regina knew she would see Emma tomorrow, but now that they had made up Regina just wanted to spend some alone time with her.

She sighed again, drawing Emma's attention to her.

"Hey," Emma called over to her, "What's wrong?"

Regina grimaced, "It's getting late and I should be calling Mary Margaret to come pick me up soon."

Emma frowned, but nodded. "You'll be back tomorrow though, right?"

"Of course dear," Regina replied, taking Emma's hand.

Emma beamed in response, although it was a loopy sort of smile; the pain medication really seemed to make her much more carefree, but Regina found it adorable.

"Ruby can you give us a minute alone before she goes?" Emma turned and asked her best friend.

Ruby rolled her eyes and smirked at the two, but patted Emma's cheek before moving over to Regina to get Henry off her lap.

"We'll be in the waiting room when you're done," Ruby directed at Regina before leaving the room.

As the door shut behind Ruby, Regina moved to sit on the edge of Emma's bed, keeping their hands linked.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," she said, her tone fairly serious.

"Oh?" Emma questioned. Her heart started beating overtime. _This is it_, she thought. _Regina just wanted to give me one last day before ending it for good. I knew it couldn't be this easy-_

"Emma," Regina called to her, breaking Emma out of her thoughts. "Stop whatever you're thinking right now, this isn't anything bad, okay?"

Regina lifted their linked hands and gave Emma's knuckles a soft kiss before continuing. "When I came in before I heard Ruby talking to the doctor about physical therapy. It sounded like money was going to be a problem. Now before you say anything I just want you to listen to me okay?"

Regina gave Emma a stern look when it looked like she was going to protest, resulting in a sheepish smile from Emma and a nod to go on.

"The accident was my fault," When it looked like Emma was going to interrupt again, Regina put a finger over her mouth to stop her. "It was; you were not the driver and now it's my fault your body is broken in the first place. So I can't just stand by and watch you spend your hard earned money on physical therapy when you shouldn't have to.

"This is _not_ me saying that I believe you aren't capable for paying for your own physical therapy," Regina insisted, knowing that Emma would not stand for feeling inferior. "I am going to pay for it and you will keep your money and buy nice things for Henry, okay?"

Emma sat in silence for a minute with her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Regina could tell she wasn't happy about this deal, but also couldn't figure out a way to protest. Regina smirked; she had accomplished her goal if Emma knew she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Finally Emma met Regina's eyes and beckoned Regina closer with one of her fingers.

After a moment Regina realized what Emma wanted, and chuckled before leaning forward. They kept eye contact for a moment, just feeling each other's breath. While two days wasn't really a long time without intimacy, they both seemed to revel in finally being close again.

Not able to take it any longer, however, Emma surged forward that last bit and finally connected their lips. The kiss was filled with an intense passion, making Regina gasp, before she wound her fingers in Emma's hair, pulling her even closer.

The two became lost in each other, and the rest of the world seemed to fade away. It was only a need for air that broke them apart, but Emma just kept her forehead resting against Regina's. They made eye contact again, before Regina broke the silence.

"So I'll take that as a yes?"

Emma chuckled and hit Regina's shoulder softly.

"It's a thank you," Emma replied, her voice slightly huskier than normal. "And…" she hesitated, "It was an overdue apology. And an- I love you."

She stuttered the last part, and then shut her eyes, afraid to see Regina's reaction. She just couldn't hold back anymore—sure it had only been a few weeks, but she knew what she felt, and those hours that she thought she had lost Regina for good really put things in perspective for her.

Regina, on the other hand, just stared at Emma in wonder. She could tell Emma was afraid, and, she supposed, with good reason. When Regina herself had been about to confess her love right after the accident, Emma had been asleep.

_But she's awake now_, Regina thought. _And she loves you back…_

Letting out a watery chuckle, Regina ran her fingers down Emma's face before cupping her chin gently.

"Emma," she said. "Emma look at me."

Slowly Emma opened her eyes, the hesitance clear, but gleaming with hope as well.

"I love you too," Regina said reverently. "I knew it after the accident… when I thought I'd lost you. I was angry at you afterwards, but I still loved you."

Now Emma was the one looking in wonder; she couldn't believe this was really happening.

Sure they would have their ups and downs, and she would have to figure out how to deal with a serious relationship with Henry around, but Emma was all in, and now she knew that Regina was too.

Suddenly, the future wasn't looking so bad.

**A/N 2: Okay so now I have 2 options for you guys about finishing this story-**

**1\. I can finish it within a few chapters and it'll stay fluffy like this OR**

**2\. I can extend the story to be (I'm not sure how much) longer, but it will be an angst filled journey with an ultimately happy ending**

**However, I won't write anything else until you let me know what you want, so please do that! And thank you for reading :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N Hey everyone, I hope you all had a great winter break/holiday! I'm sorry this took so long; I thought I would have more motivation to write over break, but then it just got away from me... I hope you all like the newest chapter, and the consensus of votes was that the story will have the angst route. But don't worry, I'll have the fluff moments I already had in mind included :) Please let me know what you think!**

**JANUARY 11**

"Mommy?" Henry's voice innocently asked from the backseat of Regina's car.

Emma turned around in the passenger seat to look at her son, staring wide-eyed back at her. "Yeah buddy?"

"How come I get my cast off but you don't? You're not getting better?" Henry said, his eyebrows furrowing together briefly in contemplation.

Emma sighed, before reaching her arm back to briefly rub Henry's leg in comfort. "I am getting better buddy, it's just taking me longer. You've had your cast on longer than me too, remember?"

Henry nodded, but still didn't look happy with the answer.

"How come you still have to take the medicine to make you strong then?"

Regina, who had been silently driving until this moment, shot a look over to Emma in question. "Yeah Mommy, how come you're still taking the medicine?" she asked in with a slightly warning tone.

"I only have to take it sometimes Henry, because my bones got a lot more hurt than yours did. But soon I'll be strong just like you so don't worry about it, okay?" Emma answered, while also avoiding Regina's gaze.

The past four weeks since the accident had been difficult on everyone. Emma, who wasn't used to being immobilized, was much more irritable than normal, especially from having to rely on others for more than she preferred. Regina and Ruby took turns taking care of both Emma and Henry, but tried to make the care for Emma less obvious. Ruby reassured Regina that Emma had always been a bad patient while sick with anything, and to just try to not let the attitude affect her.

Regina took comfort in all of the moments that the two could be alone, however. Since more help was needed in the apartment, Regina often stayed over to be available for Emma and Henry more easily. Although Emma was wary at first, she had quietly begun to accept how serious her relationship with Regina was becoming.

While they couldn't be intimate with Emma so hurt, they spent their nights reveling in being close to each other and just talking to each other.

It was this practice that Regina was preparing to rely on to have a talk with Emma about the still continued use of her painkillers that night. For now, however, they just had to get through this quick hospital visit with Henry so that he could get his cast off.

The car pulled into the parking lot of the hospital that all three knew too well by now. Emma had only been released just last week, and she was not happy to be back so soon.

As the car came to a stop, Regina made sure to get out first and grab Emma's wheelchair from the trunk. Since Emma couldn't use her arms for crutches, it was necessary to be in the wheelchair. The only person glad about this development was Henry, because he would get rides on Emma's lap while Regina would push them.

The makeshift little family made their way into the hospital where they were met with a familiar face.

"Mr. David!" Henry cried out, wiggling around a bit on Emma's lap.

"Hey Henry!" David replied enthusiastically. He walked around to Regina and gave her a big hug before leaning down to pinch Henry's cheek playfully. "How are you doing little man? Ready for that cast to come off?"

"Yeah!" Henry shouted, causing Emma to wince briefly as his mouth was right by her ear.

Regina rubbed Emma's neck from behind, and then leaned down to pick up Henry. David then took control of Emma's wheelchair and led them into an empty exam room.

Regina set Henry down on the exam chair in the middle of the room while David wheeled Emma right next to it so she could hold Henry's hand. Regina stood on the other side of Emma in a show of silent support.

"So what are you gonna do once this cast is off, Henry?" David asked, trying to distract the little boy who couldn't seem to sit still on the chair.

"Play!" he shouted excitedly, with a little belly laugh.

The adults in the room laughed as well; Emma was glad that the stress of the past month hadn't seemed to touch her boisterous son.

"Aunt Ruby can do airplanes again," he started to list excitedly, before trailing off with a frown, "But… I want to play horses with Mommy."

Emma grimaced at that comment; one of her son's favorite games was to ride on her back like a horse, but clearly they wouldn't be able to play that game for a long while.

Regina, feeling Emma tense up, interjected, "What's that Henry? Do you think you could play with me instead?"

Henry started to nod with enthusiasm, while Emma let out an undignified snort before covering her face in embarrassment. "I cannot _wait_ to see that," she said with a smirk in Regina's direction.

"What? You don't think I could play this horse game?" Regina asked with mock offense.

"Sure, I can totally see you on your hands and knees going for a wild ride," Emma replied with a wink, causing Regina's face to flush with the innuendo.

The two stared at each other heatedly for a minute before David coughed, bringing them back into the moment.

"Well we're all finished here," he announced, gesturing towards Henry's now cast-free arm. The little boy raised his arms in excitement, before wiggling them around with a silly face.

"Look what I can do!" he shouted.

The adults in the room chuckled once again, thoroughly amused by the little boy's antics.

"Alright little man, it's time to get going now so Aunt Ruby can have dinner with us before going to work," Emma said.

David carefully put Henry onto Emma's lap, before turning towards Regina and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you soon?" he asked her.

Regina looked towards Emma briefly before nodding her head. "Yeah, I'll call Mary Margaret tonight or tomorrow and we can set up dinner hopefully."

"Okay," David replied. "And we better be seeing you two as well," he said to Emma and Henry.

"Yeah!" Henry said, not having a clue what he was agreeing to.

Emma shook her head at her son with a smile and then looked back up to David. "I would love dinner, just as long as I don't have to cook it!"

David chuckled, "Mary Margaret loves cooking for people so you don't need to worry about that. We'll see you soon then," he said with a wave as they moved to leave.

"Home now?" Henry asked, looking up at Emma.

"Yeah we're going home," she replied.

Regina was silent but couldn't help thinking about the fact that she was now also starting to consider Emma's place home. Maybe she would bring up that tonight as well.

…

Later that night Regina came into Emma's room after carrying Henry to bed. Emma had said her goodnights before hand, and kind of enjoyed that Henry would let Regina put him to bed. The pair's relationship had blossomed, and Emma often prayed that nothing would happen.

Now Emma was situated on her bed with the small TV in the corner of her room playing softly.

"Hey," she said when Regina walked in.

"Hi," Regina replied with a small smile. She made her way over to the left side of the bed and cuddled up to Emma's side.

The two sat in silence, and Regina could practically hear the wheels turning in Emma's head. Finally Regina couldn't take the silence anymore.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly.

"The new semester starts next week," Emma said. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to go to classes like this."

Regina let out a light sigh, and then started to run her hand up and down Emma's arm. "We'll work it out. Your professors are already aware of the situation, and I think they'll understand if you're late occasionally or have some problems getting your art finished."

Emma nodded, but didn't say anything else. Her eyebrows were still furrowed in thought, and she didn't seem to be soothed at all.

"Hey," Regina interjected, now running her thumb against the frown lines of Emma's forehead. "Can I ask you something?"

The seriousness of her tone caused Emma to look down and her heart started to beat double time.

"Of course," Emma replied, her tone slightly shaking.

Regina took a deep breath, obviously troubled.

"When Henry mentioned you taking those pills today… I thought you were supposed to be off of the prescribed pain killers by now?"

"I am," Emma said quickly. "I mean… sometimes if I'm trying to keep up with Henry when you're not here I get worn out more quickly. And then I'll just take one. It helps. But I don't take them regularly."

"The doctor said you shouldn't be taking them at all," Regina protested. "And the more you wean yourself off of them the easier it'll be once you start physical therapy."

Emma scoffed. "Physical therapy is going to be shit no matter what. You'd rather me be in pain instead?"

"No, no, that's not what I'm saying," Regina soothed, running her hand down Emma's arm once more. She took her head off of Emma's chest so she could look Emma in the eye. "I'm just worried about you. I want you to get better. So does Henry; he needs his mom."

"He has his mom," Emma said in a curt tone. "And I'm fine. But I'll stop taking them once I start physical therapy, okay?"

Though Emma was saying the right words, she wouldn't keep eye contact. Regina felt more concerned than she had before the conversation started, but she knew that there would be no reasoning with Emma now.

_I guess I'll just have to keep a closer eye on her_, Regina thought. _Maybe I'll bring it to Ruby's attention to_.

A silence fell over the pair once again, along with a small underlying tension. A soft sigh fell from Regina's lips before she settled against Emma once more.

"Goodnight," she whispered.

"Night," Emma replied gruffly. After a moment she pressed a kiss to Regina's head, but it was a while before either of them succumbed to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N This is kind of a filler chapter before the real angst begins, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! I can't promise quick updates as my spring semester of school is just about to start and I'll have a lot of writing to do with that as well.**

**Thank you for all the follows and favorites, but please review with criticism/comments and let me know what you think! :)**

**JANUARY 26**

"We're back!" Regina called as she walked through the door with Henry in tow. The two had gone grocery shopping for dinner, leaving Emma to rest after a full day of classes. While classes had been in session for a week, Emma's attitude hadn't improved at all. Since her right side was still encased by casts, she couldn't produce anything for her art classes and all written work had to be typed, which still took longer than the usual amount of time since she could only type with one hand.

Regina offered more than once to help Emma out, but she was stubborn and refused to admit defeat. That was the one thing that made Regina feel better about the situation; while Emma might be stubborn as hell, and much more moody than usual—she still wasn't giving up on her situation and almost always had on a brave face in front of Henry.

"Hey buddy," Emma said as Henry ran over to her. She sat up slowly but surely, clearly just waking up from a nap. Regina mouthed an apology but Emma waved her off and had Henry come sit next to her on the couch. "What did you get for dinner?"

"Pizza!" Henry screamed with a giant grin on his face.

Emma raised her eyebrows and looked over to her girlfriend, "You actually allowed him to convince you on pizza?"

"You try saying no to that face!" Regina exclaimed with a huff. "However, we are making the pizza ourselves with whole wheat dough, low-fat cheese, and vegetables on top so that it will be healthy.

Emma snorted, "Keep telling yourself that, baby."

Regina blushed, and then smiled to herself; Emma was in a playful mood tonight, which had been rare lately. She also wanted to keep this mood going instead of thinking about more serious issues.

"Well when your metabolism decides to stop supporting you and you gain fifty pounds, don't come crying to me," Regina teased.

"Will you still love me when I'm three hundred pounds?" Emma asked with a cheeky grin.

"I'll love you always," Regina replied, leaning over the back of the couch to give Emma a brief kiss.

"And me?!" Henry exclaimed, interrupting the moment.

Regina laughed, "Of course I'll always love you too," she said as she gave him a kiss on the forehead.

She reached down and grabbed Henry as she stood up straight, bringing him into the kitchen.

"Henry is going to help me make dinner tonight, isn't that right buddy?" Regina asked.

"Uh huh! It's gonna be really good Mommy," he said with a serious face.

Emma rolled her eyes at her son's antics but let out a chuckle. "We'll see about that."

As Regina began pulling out ingredients and letting Henry help her, Emma laid back down on the couch and let the sounds of their conversation wash over her. Exhaustion was beginning to creep up again, and it seemed only minutes later there was a hand softly shaking her awake.

Opening her eyes slowly Emma saw Ruby sitting on the coffee table in front of her.

"Hey sleepyhead," she said with a smirk. "Did all that lying around tire you out?"

"Ass," Emma muttered, voice still thick with sleep. "What time is it?"

"Just past six," Ruby replied. "The master chefs are almost done with their creation and ordered me away from the kitchen as soon as I got home. It should be ready soon though, which is why I was ordered to wake you up, princess."

Emma shoved her friend's knee slightly, before moving to sit up. She seemed to be struggling more than usual, so Ruby aided to assist Emma standing up. When her friend leaned her weight against Ruby, the brunette knew there must be something else wrong.

"Everything okay?" she asked softly, not necessarily wanting to draw Regina's attention to them. Regina had told Ruby about the pills the week before, and since then both had tried to monitor Emma as closely as possible without smothering her. It seemed that Emma wasn't taking the pills anymore, but she did seem more tired and irritable lately which made Ruby wonder how many she had been taking before that.

"Yeah," Emma answered with a sigh. "Classes were just really hard today. I can't wait to get this arm cast off next week and then things should be a lot easier."

Ruby nodded in understanding, before kissing the side of Emma's head. "You'll be good as new in no time."

She then gave Emma a smirk before pinching her butt and shuffling them forward as Emma let out a shriek, finally causing Regina to look up sharply at them.

"I thought I told you to wake her up," Regina scolded. "What have you done now?"

"Chill out Mama Bear," Ruby replied easily. Her and Regina had fallen into a routine in the past month and were now much more comfortable with each other, even though their personalities tended to clash from time to time.

"I was just feeling a piece of your girlfriend's sweet butt," Ruby continued with a wink.

"Ugh," Emma groaned. "Please Ruby, just shut up." She was, however, smiling, which was what Ruby was aiming to accomplish the entire time.

Regina shook her head at the two of them; sometimes it felt like she was watching over three children instead of just one, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

Once Emma was situated at the table, Ruby moved to put Henry in his high chair as Regina took the pizza out of the oven.

"That smells amazing," Emma moaned out.

"See, healthy isn't so bad is it?" Regina asked pointedly, giving Emma the first slice.

Her girlfriend took a huge bite and smiled with her mouth full, both avoiding the question and trying to push Regina's buttons.

Regina gave Emma a glare, but felt her heart swell on the inside. Emma hadn't been this lighthearted in weeks, and she was glad that this mood seemed to be sticking tonight.

As the makeshift family ate their dinner, Henry kept all of the ladies entertained with stories of what they were doing in day care. After dinner Ruby went to give Henry a bath and left Regina and Emma alone.

The two moved to the couch and Regina sat down, pulling Emma to sit against her chest.

"So how was your day, really?" Regina asked, gently moving Emma's hair away from her face.

Emma sighed, "Hard."

"Well your teachers aren't pushing you right?"

"No, but I can tell they're not happy," Emma said. "But this damn arm cast is coming off next week and hopefully it won't be too fucked up."

Regina poked Emma for the language, then kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. "I think it will be okay. You just have to work hard at the physical therapy."

"I know," Emma groaned. "Can we just not talk about it now? How about you, how are your classes going?"

"Well I'll have to student teach at some point this semester so I need to find a school for that. And…" Regina paused, "My mother has been calling me. But I still don't really feel like talking to her."

Emma turned her head to look at Regina, "I know you're upset with her and you definitely have good reason to be," Emma said hesitantly. "But she's still your mom, so maybe, eventually you could try to sit down and have a talk with her? I mean I would give anything to talk to my parents even though they gave me up."

Regina squeezed her arms around Emma's waist. "I know, I'm sorry if that was insensitive," she whispered, nuzzling her nose against Emma's cheek. "Whenever I go back to my apartment maybe I'll call her back."

"About that," Emma shifted nervously. "Would you, um, possibly like to… not do that?" she asked, her green eyes looking anywhere but at Regina.

Regina felt her heart stutter, and then start beating over time. Was Emma asking what she thought she was asking?

"Emma," she breathed, trying to turn the blonde towards her more. "Emma look at me."

As Emma's eyes locked on Regina she felt her breath leave her in a _whoosh_.

"Emma are you…?"

"Well," Emma gulped, "You already spend most of your time here. And I know it's to help out with Henry and me, and I'm so grateful for that but I just… really love having you here. And I'd kind of, you know, like to make it permanent. That's not too soon is it? Oh God it's totally too soon, forget I even said anything," she started speaking rapidly.

"Emma!" Regina exclaimed, quickly locking her girlfriend's attention back to her. "I would love to."

"Yeah?" Emma squeaked out, eyes still wide with shifting emotions.

"Of course," Regina said. She surged forward; kissing Emma with all of the passion and love she was feeling. "I love you so much," she whispered reverently.

Emma let out a watery laugh; her eyes welled up with happy tears. "I love you too."


	15. Chapter 15

**February 4**

The car pulled up to the physical therapy center and slowly rolled to a stop. Ruby looked to her right to see Emma staring up at the building with a grim look on her face. Her arm cast had come off three days earlier and her leg had just been reduced to a knee brace.

"You ready?" Ruby asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Emma groaned out. She reached into the backseat for her crutches and slowly got out of the car. While she wasn't amazing with the crutches, she had much more mobility than with the wheelchair. Henry had also taken a liking to the crutches, no matter how many times Emma tried to convince him they were not for playing.

Emma hobbled to the front doors while Ruby walked at a leisurely pace next to her.

"Emma Swan?" The receptionist asked as soon as they walked in. Her physical therapy appointment was set for noon and they had just made it.

"How could you tell with all these other people waiting?" Emma replied with a sarcastic gesture to the empty waiting room.

"_Emma_," Ruby hissed, elbowing her friend in the side. "Excuse her, she has a tendency to be a melodramatic bitch when she doesn't want to do something," Ruby told the receptionist with a pointed look towards Emma.

Emma, unaffected by her best friend's usual teasing, simply rolled her eyes with a huff.

"Whatever," she bit out. "Let's just get this show on the road."

The receptionist, who's name tag read "Belle," tried to stifle a giggle at the two's antics. Working at a physical therapy center often produced grumpy people, and she could tell that Emma Swan would probably be difficult, but her friend seemed to be a good influence in lightening the mood a little.

"Dr. Humbert is ready to see you so the two of you can just go right in," Belle said, gesturing towards the door to the side of the receptionist counter.

Emma shuffled forward without preamble but Ruby hung back for a moment and smiled at Belle.

"Sorry about her," Ruby apologized. "She's an artist and a pretty active person so being immobilized for so long as made her pretty much impossible."

Belle smirked, "It's quite all right…?"

"Ruby," the brunette interjected with a grin, holding out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you Ruby," Belle responded, shaking the other girl's hand.

The two smiled at each other for a moment, before Emma's voice sounded from the other side of the doors.

"Ruby!"

Ruby rolled her eyes, but took her hand back. "Duty calls," she said, but her voice was full of affection. "I hope to see you around."

"See you," Belle replied as Ruby walked through the doors. _These were some interesting new clients indeed_.

…

As Emma made her way through the doors her gaze was immediately drawn to a man standing by one of the weight machines at the side of the room.

"Dr. Humbert, I presume?" she asked, drawing his attention.

"And you can only be Emma," he replied in a lilting Irish accent. "But you can call me Graham, I'm not really your doctor."

Graham was dressed casually in a fitted t-shirt and exercise shorts, which Emma assumed was to make training and helping people more comfortable. He looked to be about late twenties, with curly light brown hair and some scruff on his face. Usually Emma would be put off by the look, finding it a bit too grungy, but there was a vibe about Graham that made Emma feel relaxed and almost immediately like she could trust him.

"So Emma," Graham continued, "I see you're here for both a broken leg _and_ a broken arm."

Emma grimaced. "Yeah; car crash," she answered shortly. "Crushed the right side of my body."

"Well don't you worry Emma, there hasn't been a person yet that I haven't been able to get back to their full self," Graham said with a soothing smile. "It's gonna be hard work, but you're going to get there in no time at all."

Emma smiled slightly, hoping she was right. In any case she wasn't going to waste Regina's money on this physical therapy for nothing. And she had to be able to do her art again. If it would even be as good now…

"So, is it just you today or did you bring someone with you?" Graham asked, breaking Emma out of her thoughts.

Emma looked around, just realizing that Ruby had not actually followed her into the physical therapy room.

_She's probably talking to that damn cute brunette receptionist_, Emma thought with a sigh. Her friend never did pass up the opportunity to flirt. Even when her best friend was in need. Ugh.

"Ruby!" she shouted irritably, ignoring the slight wince Graham gave at the volume.

"Sorry, sorry!" Ruby cried rushing into the room, before stopping short at the sight of the extremely attractive physical therapist. "_Hello_, Dr. Humbert," she drawled in a flirty tone. "I'm Ruby, Emma's number one companion."

Emma gave a loud snort and tried to cover it up with a cough. Again, Ruby never would pass up an opportunity to flirt.

Luckily Graham took it in stride and just held his hand out to shake Ruby's, not seeming affected in the slightest. "As I told Emma here, you can just call me Graham. And what we'll need from you today Ruby is a lot of encouragement as the first physical therapy session is usually the hardest. Think you can handle that?"

Ruby paused to turn to Emma and dramatically look her best friend up and down. "You mean I can't tell her she looks like a fat cow in those sweatpants and then push her to the ground?" she said seriously. The glint in her eyes however, gave away the fact that she was kidding.

Graham rolled his eyes without a response; these two ladies were sure going to make these sessions interesting.

"Alright then, let's get going!"

….

Meanwhile, back at the apartment Regina was trying to both make sure Henry didn't get into trouble and finishing unpacking her stuff. At first she had made it into a game for Henry to get clothes out of the boxes, telling him that the tasks would make him big and strong like a superhero, but a three year old could only have something hold their attention for so long.

So Regina had set him up with a coloring book on the bed while she finished putting all of her belongings around the bedroom. Emma hadn't had much stuff to begin with, which left plenty of room for Regina.

After their conversation the week before, they had spent all of their free time packing up Regina's apartment so she could move in with Emma and Ruby as quickly as possible. It was a little crowded for three adults and a toddler, but they would make it work. The only thing left for Regina to do was tell her mom that she had now moved in with her girlfriend, but that was an argument for another day.

"'Gina!" Henry yelled after throwing his paper aside and looking up at her with huge eyes. "I'm _starving_!"

Regina chuckled at the pitiful look the toddler was giving her. "You're starving?!" she exclaimed dramatically.

"Uh huh," Henry nodded emphatically. "If I don't eat right now I am going to die."

_He is too much_, Regina thought to herself, with love bursting through her heart. He had more personality and wit than any three year old she had ever met and she could only attribute it to Emma's parenting and genes being passed down.

"Alright then, let's go get you some lunch," Regina said, swooping down to pick Henry up. She maneuvered him on his stomach so it was like he was flying, and then ran with him all the way to the kitchen, feeling his laughter vibrating through his whole body.

She set Henry down in his booster seat then set out making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for him and a small salad for herself. Regina put on Disney radio as they ate which kept him entertained with singing along to the songs in between bites.

After lunch Regina put Henry in front of the TV, hoping the full stomach would keep him subdued and hopefully draw him into a nap while she cleaned up the dishes. Once she was done with that however, a wave of exhaustion passed over her and she moved over to the couch herself.

As soon as she sat down on the couch Henry crawled into her lap and craftily moved her arms so they were wrapped around him, melting Regina's heart a little bit.

"Hey 'Gina?" He asked, his voice dripping with fatigue.

"Yeah buddy," she answered in a quiet tone.

"Are you gonna stay with us forever now?" his voice was quieter now as well, and his tone was completely innocent.

Regina sighed, and squeezed her arms around him a little tighter. "I hope so," she said wistfully. "Would you like that?"

He twisted around so his face was burrowed in her neck, and he peeked up at her from beneath his shaggy hair. "I would like that very much," Henry responded matter of factly. "Does that mean you'll be my other Mommy too?"

"Oh Henry," Regina whispered. "I would like to, but how about you ask your mom about that one okay?"

"Okay," Henry replied easily, clutching her shirt between his little hands and shutting his eyes. "Love you," he mumbled, as his breathing evened out and he fell asleep.

Regina felt tears pricking at her eyes, and bent forward to give him a kiss on the head. "I love you too, buddy," she replied, before succumbing to sleep herself.

**A/N Okay so I know I promised angst and I keep ending these chapters with enough fluff to cause some cavities, but I really am trying my best to get there. I have an idea of where I want to go with this and the angst that I want to execute, but as this is by far the longest thing I've ever written it's just taking a while. So please bear with me and let me know what you think/any ideas you have for future chapters/etc. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N Okay so I've replaced the original author's note with a new chapter and that is most definitely due to the overwhelming response I got to continue this story. I think I replied to everyone (besides the guest reviewers, in which case this is also for you) but I really mean it-thank you so much for your responses and reviews. Nothing is a better motivator than positive encouragement, so in addition to writing out this new chapter, I also planned out the rest of this story and I think there will be about 7 more chapters after this. I'm not sure how quickly I'll be able to write them, but there is definitely an end in sight. So thank you again, and now I will end this monster note so you can hopefully enjoy the chapter :)**

**Also side note- I am not a professional physical therapist, nor have I ever actually been to physical therapy so excuse any discrepancies that may come with that**

**February 23**

"Come on Emma you can do this," Graham encouraged. "Just one more step."

Emma had been in physical therapy for about three weeks now and she wasn't improving nearly as much as she'd hoped. Besides her knee being completely messed up, somehow the fine motor skills in her right hand also weren't nearly at the same level they used to be, which meant that her art was still lacking along with her schoolwork. Regina assured Emma that her professors couldn't hold it against her, and threatened to talk to them herself but Emma refused.

She kept telling everyone that she was improving well, and while Graham always encouraged her she could tell that he wasn't as happy with the results of their physical therapy either. Emma could always tell when someone was lying, and when Graham told her that they were right on track she knew that wasn't true.

_Failure_, Emma's mind bit out as she struggled to take normal steps towards Graham, her knee straightened out. If physical therapy had been going better she could've been without the knee brace by now, but unfortunately she was still stuck with that and the crutches.

Physical therapy was also taking a major strain on her, and Emma knew she was much more tired and irritable than normal. She knew that Regina and Ruby were only trying to help her, and she knew that Henry just wanted his mom to be normal again, but she couldn't do it. She was in a downward spiral that never seemed to end.

Lost in her thoughts, Emma misplaced her foot and quickly collapsed on the mat beneath her.

"Emma!" Ruby cried out, rushing to her friend from the side.

"Don't," Emma warned, putting a hand up to stop the brunette. Her eyes burned with tears but she steeled herself before looking up to Graham. "I'm done for today," she stated in a hard voice.

Graham sighed, "Emma-"

"No," she protested. "I've been working at it for an hour, I'm done."

Graham's lips were set in a thin line, but he nodded his acquiesce and moved to help her up. Ruby, knowing her friend would refuse her help again, just wordlessly handed over Emma's crutches.

The two were silent as they gathered their things and left the building, Ruby throwing Belle a weak smile as they passed by the reception desk. When they got into Ruby's car Emma finally spoke.

"I want to start going in alone," she said.

Ruby looked over in disbelief, "_What_?"

"I'm not getting any better, and it's just a distraction to have you witnessing it. You can either wait in the waiting room or I can start taking the subway but either way I don't want you in there," Emma demanded.

Ruby sat in silence, unsure of how to proceed. Sure, she knew that the lack of PT results was frustrating Emma but she didn't think it had gotten this bad. She was hurt by the request but she also knew her best friend, and there was little hope of getting Emma to change her mind.

"Fine," Ruby sighed. "But you can be the one to tell Regina."

Regina was the most encouraging about the whole situation, and Ruby seriously admired her strength. She had really only known Emma for a few months and the two had gone through more shit than Ruby had thought possible for them to still be together, let alone living together.

Emma just nodded in response to Ruby's statement, clearly done with conversation for now. They were left to their own thoughts for the ride home and the ride up to the apartment from the elevator. As they got to the front door Ruby noticed Emma take a deep breath, as if steeling herself to walk in. She didn't have time to dwell on it more, however, as Emma then pushed the door open and left Ruby outside in the hall.

"Mommy!" Henry's voice cried as he ran over from his little play area in the living room.

"Hey buddy," Emma replied, her voice upbeat to Henry but clearly strained to both Ruby, and to Regina, who had been sitting on the couch watching Henry.

"Are your bones big and strong yet?" Henry asked innocently, failing to notice the grimace that flashed across his mother's face.

"Almost," Emma finally answered, before ruffling Henry's hair. "How would you like to go for a nice walk with Aunt Ruby before dinner?" she asked him while looking pointedly at her best friend. They both knew Regina wouldn't be happy about the physical therapy situation, and Henry shouldn't be around while that discussion was happening.

"Yeah!" Henry yelled, rushing off to the door.

Ruby smiled at his excitement, and then wrangled him into his winter gear to protect him from the cold. Before she left she gave Emma a long look, then took Henry's hand and led them out the door.

"So," Regina began, "What was that about?"

"I made a decision at physical therapy today and Ruby isn't happy about it," Emma stated matter of factly. "And you probably won't be either but it's my decision so neither of you can change my mind."

Regina just stared at Emma, waiting for her to continue.

"I'm going to go into my sessions alone now. I'm not improving, and having Ruby there isn't helping anything."

"But-"

"No," Emma said firmly. "I don't care how optimistic you're being, I'm _not_ getting better. And it doesn't matter how understanding my teachers are, if I can't get my work produced then I can't graduate in May. I certainly can't become an artist and then I can't open my own gallery. So maybe this does seem a little harsh but I essentially lost my dream the night of the accident so that's pretty harsh too."

Regina looked as though she had been slapped across the face.

"Emma," she breathed. "That's not true."

Emma snorted derisively. "Oh yeah? Then please, enlighten me."

Regina shut her eyes, and then took a deep breath, obviously trying not to let Emma's words spark the negative reaction that Emma was hoping for. Because as much as Emma wanted to fight, Regina didn't.

"Okay fine, maybe you won't improve back to your previous skill but that doesn't mean your dream is dead," Regina began. "Talk to your professors, they can help you work something out. If you can't produce the art yourself, try looking into management. You can still open a gallery just by controlling the art that comes in and out of it, and other jobs like that. Is it going to suck if you can't produce the same art that you used to? Of course it is, but that isn't your only option."

"_You don't get it, do you?!"_ Emma all but screamed. "Art is everything I _have_, it's everything that I _am_. It's the only consistent thing I've had with me for the past twenty-three years and now it's gone. It's gone, and I'm lost.

I'm lost without it," Emma finished in a softer tone, tears welling up in her eyes. "So yeah, it kind of is my only option."

The two stared at each other, neither knowing what to say. Finally, Emma broke the silence and turned away.

"I need to shower," she said, by way of explanation.

Regina sighed, and didn't bother with an answer. Instead she moved into the kitchen to try and make dinner. Henry's birthday was also that weekend, so she wanted to make cupcakes before the week's schoolwork caught up to her.

Regina rummaged through the kitchen, lost in thought. She finally found a cupcake tin in the cupboard above the sink, but when she brought it down a bunch of other items fell down with it.

"Dammit," she muttered. She moved quickly to pick everything up, but stopped short at one item.

It was a pill bottle, addressed for Emma Swan. The exact same pain killers that Emma swore she had stopped taking; only these had apparently been refilled two weeks before.

_She lied?_ Regina thought to herself incredulously. Before she could take any other action, however, Henry rushed through the door with Ruby right behind him. Panicking, Regina shoved the pills back into the cupboard, before turning to greet Henry with a smile.

"Are you making cupcakes?" he exclaimed with wide eyes.

"I am," Regina answered, pinching him gently on the cheek. "They're for someone's birthday on Saturday, can you guess who that might be?"

"ME!" Henry screamed, making both Regina and Ruby laugh. Ruby took off her coat and gloves then moved to help with dinner so Regina could focus on the cupcakes.

Regina wanted to talk to Ruby about the pills, but with Henry there, there was no chance of that happening. She knew she would have to wait till they were alone, but hopefully that would be sooner rather than later.

_Because I'm not sure how much longer we can last like this_, Regina thought grimly to herself.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N Another quick update! I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep updating this quickly, but since I've planned out the rest of the story I just really want to get it done. And since I'm also relatively new to fanfiction I replaced the author's note with Chapter 16, but I'm not sure if it alerted people so just to make sure, there was another new chapter before this one :) Let me know what you think. **

**February 28**

Emma woke up to the distinct feeling of being watched and a soft weight on her chest. Slowly she peeked one eye open to see her son sitting atop her body with his face mere inches from her own.

"Mommy," he whispered seriously, conscious of the fact that Regina was still asleep next to Emma.

"Henry," Emma whispered back just as seriously. While her life had taken a turn for the worst, Henry was still the one person that could never fail to put a smile on her face no matter what.

"Guess what you're doing today!" he said a little louder.

"Hmmmm," Emma pretended to think. "I have class today?"

Henry shook his head insistently.

"I'm going out with Regina today?"

The little boy let out a petulant sigh and gave her a look that creepily mirrored Regina's own annoyed face; how she had instilled that look on her son so quickly, Emma had no idea.

"I don't know Henry, what am I doing today?" Emma asked, continuing to push the boy's buttons.

"Celebrating my birthday!"

Emma gasped, then shook her head. "I don't think so. I think you're still my three year old little boy."

"No Mommy," Henry protested. "I'm four now."

"Nope," Emma said with an exaggerated frown.

"Yes!" Henry exclaimed, starting to giggle at his mother's antics. "I'm a big boy now."

"Oh you are? Well if you were really a big boy could I still do… this?" Emma asked, before flipping her son over and starting to tickle him.

His flailing body bumped into Regina, finally waking her next to Emma. Although the sudden body on top of hers startled her, Regina soon gathered what was going on and joined Emma in the tickling.

The little boy shrieked with laughter and protests, but it was one of his legs kicking into Emma's own that stopped all movement immediately. Emma let out a sharp gasp, and gently moved Henry closer to Regina.

"Are you okay?" Regina asked, cradling Henry into her body while also trying to look over Emma.

"Fine," Emma gritted out, though she was clearly in pain.

"I hurt Mommy?" Henry's soft voice asked, his eyes watering with tears.

"Just a little bit," Emma answered, cradling his chin. "But it was an accident so don't be sad, okay birthday boy?"

Henry gave a soft nod, before Emma kissed his forehead and gave him and Regina a joint hug.

"How about you go wake Aunt Ruby now and see if she can make you a special breakfast, okay?" Emma told her son, watching him scamper out of the bedroom with his excitement back.

Once he was gone, Regina lifted her hand to Emma's face and looked her straight in the eyes. "Are you really okay?"

Emma nodded without saying anything, and then broke eye contact before hobbling off the bed. "I'll be fine," she said. "I'm just going to go help Ruby in the kitchen if you want to shower first."

Regina sighed as Emma left the room. Things were always fine when Henry was around, but Emma's relationships with both Regina and Ruby were getting increasingly strained and Regina still hadn't found a time to talk to Emma about it. Hopefully once the party was over with things would be much less chaotic and they could focus on really getting Emma better.

Regina looked at the clock before getting out of bed. It was 8am, so they had about five hours before people were due to start showing up for Henry's party.

_And hopefully Emma will be fine…_ Regina thought to herself, before moving to start getting ready for the day.

…

The party was in full swing and so far no disasters had happened. As Henry didn't go to daycare there was only a few neighboring kids there, and then some of Emma's friends. Mary Margaret and David were also at the party since they had become closer to Emma and Ruby in the past few months, and at Emma's insistence Cora had been invited to see that their relationship wasn't as bad as she thought.

However, Cora had yet to show and Regina was worried because Emma and her's relationship wasn't nearly as stable as it should have been.

On the surface, Emma was being a perfectly adequate hostess, but there was a detached air about her that made Regina worry. She was flitting around from person to person making small talk, but her smiles didn't reach her eyes and she wouldn't stay by Regina for more than a few minutes at a time.

After over an hour of this behavior, Regina had finally had enough and grabbed Emma's arm as she was hobbling by.

"Is everything okay?" Regina asked in a hushed voice.

"Fine," Emma said curtly. "Just trying to make sure everything is going smoothly."

"You've hardly talked to me in days and you're acting weird," Regina told her. There was no reason to beat about the bush, even though she realized this was not the best time to start this conversation.

Emma eyed the people around them before dropping her voice even more. "I'm fine. I'm just stressed, as I already informed you later this week. Maybe when I'm not in pain all the time and can actually you know, walk, things will be better."

Without waiting for a response she turned around and walked away… straight into Cora Mills.

"Miss Swan," Cora greeted with an expression resembling a snake ready to strike. "How have you been?"

"I've been great," Emma replied just as stoically, standing up as straight as she could while holding one of her crutches. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Well, Regina insisted. Where is the birthday boy? Surely he's around this… fine home," Cora said, voice dripping with disdain as she looked around the apartment.

Emma gritted her teeth and took a deep breath, trying to keep her cool in front of the wretched woman.

"Last I saw he was with his Aunt Ruby, how about I find him and you can go talk to Regina." Emma gestured behind her, where Regina was now in a conversation with one of Emma's neighbors, Jefferson.

Cora walked away without a reply and Emma let out a deep sigh, before steeling herself to join the rest of the party again.

…

"Regina dear," the sudden voice behind her made Regina's blood run cold.

Steeling her self and composing her face, Regina turned around. "Hello Mother."

An awkward hug, if it could even be called that, occurred between the two. Sensing the tension Jefferson quietly backed out before introductions could be made.

"So nice of you to invite me after not returning any of my calls for two months," Cora admonished.

"Well the last time I saw you, you were insulting my relationship," Regina replied, her tone just as cold as her mother's. "I just wanted to let you know that we're still doing just fine, against your judgment."

A sinister laugh fell from Cora's mouth. "Really? You think you're doing just fine? I've only been here five minutes and even I can tell otherwise, dear."

"What are you talking about?" Regina spit out, her patience already waning.

"Well it's been two months and clearly Emma isn't any better. And from that glazed look in her eyes I'd say she's only making it by with a little—or a lot really, help."

Regina blinked rapidly, trying to keep her expression neutral. "Emma does not have a glazed look. And she's healing just fine according to her physical therapist."

Cora chuckled again, although the sound was far from happy. "Is that what she's having you believe? That girl is a ticking time bomb."

"She's not," Regina protested, although on some level knew her mother had a point. Emma was having problems, but she wasn't actually a ticking time bomb… was she?

"Here's my advice dear, and speaking from the past you should really take it into consideration. Cut your ties with Miss Swan. That girl is a lost cause, and she's only going to continue to drag you down with her. You know you're better than her and this life. You're destined for great things Regina, and looking after a crippled drug addict is not one of them."

Fury flared in Regina's chest the longer Cora spoke. "Get out," she ordered, her voice barely wavering.

Instead of putting up a fight however, Cora just gave her a coy smile. "You know I'm right. You'll come around."

"You're wrong," Regina spit out. "Now leave, you're not welcome here anymore."

"Tell Miss Swan that I'm sorry I couldn't wish her precious boy a happy birthday," Cora said as she turned towards the front door, her voice anything but sincere.

Regina watched her mother leave as her eyes filled with tears; both angry and sad. She didn't know what to do about Emma, but she certainly couldn't just leave her. She loved Emma, and she loved Henry and Ruby now too; they were like the family she never had.

A soft hand on her back startled Regina out of her thoughts. Turning around, she was surprised to see Ruby looking back at her.

"You heard what she said?" Regina asked, tears clouding her voice.

Ruby just nodded, before bringing Regina in for a hug. The two were silent for a minute, while Regina tried to pull herself back together.

"Are you going to tell Emma?" Ruby asked.

"Tell me what?" A bitter voice interjected. The two brunettes looked over to see Emma standing there, jealousy in her expression.

_She couldn't possibly think that anything is going on…?_ Regina thought incredulously. Before she could answer however, Ruby decided to take the reigns.

"Cora had some choice words for Regina," Ruby said. "Then Regina kicked her out."

"What did she say?" Emma asked, her eyes hard.

Regina sighed. Clearly this conversation couldn't be avoided now. She took Emma's hand and led her into their room before shutting the door for some privacy.

"She said…" Regina began hesitantly. "She still thinks you're bad for me; that you're dragging me down. She thinks that you're not getting any better and your coping methods are going to destroy us both. She wanted me to 'cut my losses.'"

Emma was silent for a moment before she spoke, her response surprising Regina. "She's right."

"_What_?" Regina gasped.

"She's right," Emma repeated. "We both know I'm not getting any better. You deserve someone that can take you on adventures, not give you babysitting duties."

"Emma," Regina protested. "You can't be serious. I love you, I _chose_ you, I can't just turn away from you. And I can't turn away from Henry either."

Instead of responding, however, Emma just laid down on the bed. She looked defeated, and empty. Regina wanted to comfort her but now didn't know where they stood.

"If Henry asks just tell him I needed a little nap, okay?" Emma said, before turning her back to both Regina and the door.

As tears returned to Regina's eyes, she just nodded her head, although Regina couldn't see, and left the room.

_Maybe tomorrow things will be better_, Regina hoped, although she knew in her heart it wasn't likely. _Things can't stay this way forever_.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N Here's another quick-ish update for you all! There should be 4 chapters and an epilogue after this, so we're getting to the end now. I'm going away this weekend and then I'll have a fairly busy week, but I'll try to get the next chapter out by next Friday.**

**I also haven't really read this over at all (please forgive me, my eyes are spinning lol) so please forgive me for any mistakes (also feel free to point them out, I'll go over this again tomorrow but the more eyes the better!) and let me know what you think :)**

**March 2**

By Monday morning Regina and Emma had still barely spoken, although not for lack of trying on Regina's part. However, Emma was stubborn as hell and refused to acknowledge Regina except for a few one worded answers and simple requests.

Emma didn't have any Monday classes so she was currently stuck in the apartment trying to get some work done on her final art projects. She knew she was being unfair to Regina, and Ruby and Henry for that matter, but she just didn't know what else to do. So she did what she had always done best—push people away and internalize everything she was feeling.

_Conceal, don't feel_, Emma thought with a scoff, quoting the popular children's song.

She had set up her supplies in the living room, where her painting easel could be lowered to the height of where she was sitting on the couch so she wouldn't be straining anything. The problem was that she had started off the year painting different portraits of people. The projected included both people she knew, and strangers, and the point was to paint them with certain emotions that came with each person. In short, she needed to be able to paint with a lot of detail, and in the state she was in now, that was turning out to be impossible.

She hadn't had a physical therapy session since telling Ruby she would go in alone, and she also hadn't been doing the small exercises that Graham had given her to try at home. So sure, that was her fault, but she was frustrated and in pain all the time. And while she was good at blocking emotional pain, it turned out that physical pain wasn't so easy.

Emma sighed, turning back to the painting she was working on now. She had started it before the accident, and it was a painting of Regina. A good majority of it had gotten finished, but the biggest part of the painting was supposed to be the emotion that Regina often conveyed in her eyes and it seemed like there would be no getting it right.

"Ugh," Emma groaned in frustration, pushing the easel away from the couch. She looked at the clock—it was just after 1, which meant she had just been sitting there for about two hours.

Carefully she stood up with one of her crutches and hobbled her way over to the kitchen. She went straight to the cupboard above the sink and rummaged around a bit before coming out with her painkillers. They weren't well hidden at all and she was sure Regina or Ruby had found them, but neither had approached her yet so she didn't have to worry about dealing with that particular problem at the moment.

Opening the bottle she poured two pills into her palm. She got some juice out of the fridge (what she would give for some wine instead) and quickly threw the pills back. She sat for a few minutes just tapping her fingers restlessly waiting for the edge to come off and the pain in both her hand and knee dull.

After about ten minutes she wasn't feeling anything but frustration. Huffing out a breath, she poured three more pills out and took those too. It's not like there was anything to do but sleep now anyway, since her art obviously wasn't getting done.

Emma's brain finally started to dull and her vision was starting to tunnel. She moved into the bedroom and barely made it into the bed before passing out.

…

Regina was sitting in class trying not to fall asleep, as she had already heard about Shakespeare every other semester at college. She had just started doodling in her notes out of shear boredom when her phone started to vibrate in her pocket. Ignoring the glare she got from her professor she left the classroom and felt a swell of panic when she saw that it was Henry's daycare calling.

"Hello?" she rushed out, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Hi," a hesitant female voice answered, "Is this Regina Mills?"

"Yes, this is she. Is this about Henry? Is he okay?" Regina fired out, already impatient with the lack of information she had gotten.

"Henry's fine… he just hasn't gotten picked up yet. His mother didn't answer his phone so we were instructed to call you next," The voice answered.

Pulling the phone away from her ear Regina quickly looked to see what the time was—nearly 3 o'clock? Emma was supposed to pick him up at 2:30… the daycare was just down the street so it wouldn't be too difficult for him to get him.

The panic was rising in Regina's chest again wondering what had happened to Emma.

"Miss Mills?" The voice asked, breaking Regina out of her reverie.

"Yes, I'm here," Regina said, her voice more commanding now. "I'll be there as quickly as I can, tell Henry I'm coming."

She hung up the phone without saying anything else and then rushed back into the classroom to grab her stuff. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, but her thoughts were only for Emma and Henry. Her professor would understand, and if they didn't well, that was their problem.

Regina broke about every driving law possible to get to Henry's daycare and then practically ran inside. The site she was greeted with completely plummeted her stomach. The little boy was crying hysterically, and it looked like none of the caregivers could get him to calm down.

"Henry," Regina called out, grabbing his attention. As soon as he caught sight of her, he sprinted towards her and launched himself into her arms. Regina caught him easily, and stroked his hair as he burrowed his face into her neck; she could feel his tears on her skin, his body heaving with the struggle of his sobs.

"Mommy- didn't come," the little boy choked out.

"Shh, shh," Regina tried to comfort him. She kissed his head gently and tried to get him to breathe. "It's okay Henry I'm here now and I'm sure Mommy is fine. She probably just fell asleep; she's been so tired lately right? But listen to me okay?"

Henry nodded with a little hiccup, his face bright red and wet with tears.

"Mommy didn't forget about you," Regina said seriously, looking into Henry's eyes. "This doesn't mean she doesn't love you and this doesn't mean that something happened. Okay?"

"O-okay," Henry said, his voice congested. The poor boy looked exhausted, and Regina brought him into her body a little tighter.

Finally she looked up to see two of the caregivers standing nearby. One of them was a young girl who must have been the one that called.

"I'm just going to bring him home now," Regina told them. "Where are his things?"

The girl pointed to a table that held his backpack and coat, and Regina quickly moved over there to help Henry into his goat and put on his gloves. She picked him back up and left immediately; she was in no sense of mind to make conversation with anyone right now.

They made their way to Regina's car, where she was happy that she always had one of Henry's spare car seats in case of emergencies like this. She strapped him in, and gave him one more kiss on the forehead, taking notice of his fast drooping eyes.

Sure enough, as soon as they were on the road the little boy was out like a light, the emotional toll of the past events catching up to him. Regina hoped he would stay asleep so he wouldn't have to witness the fight that would surely happen between her and Emma when they got home. What was Emma _thinking_? She had one task for the whole day… Regina shook her head, just paying attention to the road. None of them needed another car wreck to happen.

Fifteen minutes later they were finally back at the apartment and Henry was thankfully still asleep. Regina had quickly texted Ruby that they needed to talk when she got home from work, before taking Henry and moving to the elevator. When she walked into the apartment she didn't see Emma anywhere, but she did see Emma's easel thrown haphazardly to the side of the couch and a forgotten glass of juice on the counter… right next to an open bottle of painkillers.

Regina sighed. That was it. She walked into Henry's room and laid him gently down on his bed before pulling shut his door and making her way towards her and Emma's room. She pushed open the door to find Emma completely passed out on the bed; she hadn't even bothered to take off her shoes or pull back the covers.

_How many of those pills did she take?_ Regina thought incredulously. Shaking her head, she moved over to the bed and forcefully shook Emma awake.

"Wha-?" Emma groaned, having trouble waking up. She looked up to find Regina staring back at her, with a furious expression on her face. "Regina?" she asked groggily. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Regina seethed. "What happened is it's past 2:30 in the afternoon and you forgot to pick your son up from preschool."

That seemed to wake Emma up further, as she finally stood up from the bed with a concerned glance towards the door. She could see that Henry's door was shut across the hall, which meant he was asleep.

"Oh my God," Emma muttered to herself, running her hands through her hair.

"Yeah, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do when he wakes up," Regina said, her voice hard. "He was completely distraught, thinking his mother forgot about him." She scoffed, "Little did he know that he was right. His mother chose some pills to forget about her problems than her own son."

"Regina-" Emma started.

"No!" Regina exclaimed. "I am so _tired_ of this Emma. I'm tired of the lies, and the pills, and the neglect. Not the neglect for me, although that's bad enough, but your own son? I can't watch you destroy your own life, Emma. Something needs to give."

Emma's mouth hung open- she had no idea how to respond.

"Regina…"

The woman in question, however, just turned around and made her way towards the door. "I think I'll stay with Mary Margaret and David tonight. You can fill Ruby in on why."

Then she continued out of the apartment without another backward glance.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N I'm so sorry this has taken so long! I know I said I'd try to get a chapter up by last Friday, but life and schoolwork have been completely chaotic. We're coming up to the climax of the story and there's only 3 chapters and an epilogue left after this, so if you have anything you'd want to see in said epilogue let me know because my plans for that are pretty open :) I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll try to update as quickly as I can (but no promises again)**

**March 2 (cont'd)**

Regina sat in her car, trying to eliminate all traces of crying before she walked up to Mary Margaret and David's apartment. She had driven around for a good while trying to clear her mind and let out all of her emotions. After sending Mary Margaret a quick text saying that she would be spending the night, she finally made her way to the apartment. Leaning her head back in her seat, Regina let out a long sigh.

_What am I going to do?_

While Regina in no way wanted to admit her mother was right in any situation, Emma was being completely resistant to all help. And it was common knowledge that no one could help you unless you helped yourself first, which Emma refused to do.

Most of all, however, Regina couldn't help thinking of Henry. All he had ever known was a completely attentive and loving mother—a mother who loved him so much, she shielded him from potentially getting hurt by a relationship, but clearly Emma never anticipated that she would be the one hurting her son. And as messed up as Emma was right now, she couldn't be so oblivious to not notice the pain she was inflicting on her son with her behavior.

_What a fucking nightmare_. Regina groaned. She might as well get the explanation out of the way with Mary Margaret and David now. Then she could hopefully talk to Ruby and figure out some sort of game plan.

Slowly she got out of her car and locked it before making her way up the stairs to the apartment. She had hardly knocked before the door flew open and Mary Margaret threw her arms around Regina, asking question after question about what happened and if she was okay. Looking over Mary Margaret's shoulder, Regina made eye contact with David who gave her a soft smile before moving to pull his fiancée away from Regina to give the girl some space.

_Thank you_, Regina mouthed. She walked over to the couch in the living room and dropped down.

"It's Emma," she began, without preamble. "And I don't know what to do."

For the next half hour she told them of what was happening with Emma and Henry and the pills and by the end of it she was crying again. David was sitting closest to her and had moved to put his arm around her shoulders in comfort, and for that Regina was grateful.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she took a deep breath hoping it wasn't Emma. She wasn't ready to deal with a conversation just yet. She pulled her phone out and was relieved to see that it was a text message from Ruby.

**I just got back and Emma left without saying anything. I'm going to get Henry and bring him over to you guys so we can talk.**

Regina let out a sigh. "Ruby's on her way here," she explained. "It seems Emma can't even talk to her best friend now."

While they waited for Ruby and Henry to arrive, Mary Margaret started dinner and tried to coerce Regina into helping to keep her mind off of things. Regina was halfheartedly chopping vegetables for the salad when there was a soft knock on the door, causing her to drop the knife in a dangerous fashion before rushing to greet Ruby.

Opening the door, she was met with a sight that sank her spirits even further. Henry was awake now, but his face was burrowed into Ruby's neck and it looked like he had been crying again. As soon as he saw Regina, however, he reached for her to be held instead.

"Mommy wasn't there when I woke up," Henry said softly. "And you were gone too. Where's Mommy?"

Regina pressed her lips to Henry's forehead and gave him a little squeeze.

"Mommy is having a really bad day today, so we're gonna have dinner with Mary Margaret and David, is that okay?"

Henry's eyebrows furrowed together, but he nodded a little bit in agreement.

"Now how would you like to help Mary Margaret with dinner? I'm sure you'll make sure it's extra delicious, right?" Regina asked, trying to keep her voice light.

Henry shrugged, keeping his head resting against Regina's shoulder. She made eye contact with Ruby who looked just as concerned as Regina was feeling. She made her way into the kitchen where luckily Mary Margaret was able to greet Henry with much more enthusiasm than everyone was feeling.

She took Henry from Regina's arms with another sullen nod from the boy, at which Regina left the two to go talk to Ruby and David in the living room where Henry wouldn't be listening in.

"So what happened?" Ruby asked immediately as Regina sat back down on the couch.

"The pills of course," Regina gritted out. "She's been hiding them in the kitchen cabinet. I only just found them last week and I was going to talk to you about it but then we had Henry's birthday and I wanted to try and talk to Emma but clearly she's being unresponsive as ever and then today it just blew up."

Ruby leaned forward and put her hand on Regina's knee. "Deep breaths," she instructed. "Now what happened today? And why on earth is Henry acting like a kicked puppy?"

Tears filled Regina's eyes before she took the deep breath that Ruby instructed and shook them away. "She forgot to pick Henry up from school today," Regina explained. "The preschool called me and when I got there he was inconsolable, thinking Emma forgot about him. I assured him that wasn't the case and luckily he fell asleep on the way home. When we got back Emma was passed out in the bed with the pill bottles open on the counter. I woke her up, we fought, I left. I'm assuming she only stayed because of Henry."

"Oh Emma…" Ruby sighed. "I knew she was acting weird and I kind of assumed, but I also never thought she would get this bad. Especially towards Henry…"

The two women looked in the kitchen where they could only hear Mary Margaret's voice, and none of Henry's usual laughter. It was both disconcerting and completely overwhelming.

David, who had been completely silent up until now, spoke up. "I think you should bring her to the hospital," he suggested. "There's doctors that can talk to her about her problem; it's more common than you would think. Doctors can't stop prescribing pain killers, but you never know who's going to be more susceptible to them than others unfortunately."

Regina and Ruby made eye contact, both thinking the same thing—at this point; it might be their only option. Ruby knew Emma would hate her for it, and it might break every trust she had in her best friend, but there was just no other way. Not to mention the fact that she couldn't keep being a mother to Henry while acting so irresponsibly and avoiding all of the problems she was having.

"I think you should still stay here tonight," Ruby said definitively. "And I can try to go home and talk to Emma." _If she ever comes home_, Ruby thought with a nervous pang.

Regina nodded, although she didn't look any better than she did when Ruby came in.

"I also think that Henry should stay here for the night," Ruby continued, looking over at David. "If that's okay with you guys?"

"Of course," David agreed readily. "I think that's for the best as well. You won't want him around if you're not sure how Emma's going to react."

They all sat in silence for a minute, lost in their own thoughts before Mary Margaret's voice called them into dinner from the kitchen. That was a mostly silent affair as well, with each of the adults mostly trying to engage Henry into conversation and stories without much success.

Once dinner was over, Mary Margaret and David went to do the dishes and left Regina and Ruby to talk to Henry.

"Hey Henry, you know how I said Mommy was having a bad day?" Regina asked him carefully. "Well Aunt Ruby is going to go home to talk to her and try to make her feel better. But I'm going to stay with Mary Margaret and David tonight."

Henry's lip started to tremble, and the poor boy looked close to tears again.

"Hey hey don't cry," Ruby jumped in. "We wanted to ask if you wanted to stay the night here as well?"

Regina nodded, "I'll be really lonely by myself and I'd like it if you could keep me company."

"I can't make Mommy feel better?" Henry whispered in response, making both women's hearts break even more.

Ruby sighed, "It's not that simple buddy. This is a little more serious than a few hugs and kisses can fix, but I'm sure she'll appreciate them in the morning after she's had some sleep and other help."

Henry sat in silence, his eyes still brimming with tears before finally nodding. He reached up for Regina to take him out of his high chair, which she did quickly, hugging him close. The three of them watched some cartoons for a while, before Ruby finally decided that she should get going. She gave Henry a big kiss and nodded back at Regina when the other girl mouthed "good luck" as she left.

Since Henry didn't seem to be as into the cartoons as he was before, Regina decided to give him a quick bath before just putting him to bed. The little boy didn't even protest, proving that his spirits were even further down than Regina had realized.

He was mostly silent through the whole process, but he still gave Regina a sloppy kiss when she put him into the guest room bed that they would end up sharing for the night. It was only as she was leaving the bedroom that she heard her phone ringing from the living room. David and Mary Margaret were out on the porch, giving them privacy but came in at the same time as Regina as they also must have heard the phone.

_Ruby_ the phone flashed.

"Ruby? What is it?" Regina asked, a pit of dread pooling in her stomach.

"You have to get to the hospital, now," Ruby said, her voice thick with tears. "It's Emma…"


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N A quick update! Since we're so close to the end now I'm anxious just to finish it and I'm hoping to do that before I go on spring break in two weeks. Quick note- I again know nothing about medical conditions/procedures so I'm sorry for any inaccuracies, it was necessary for the drama within the story. I hope you enjoy this though; the drama is nearly over **

**Also to the reviewer who wanted me to have Regina sing to Emma, I hope you enjoy the one small scene in this chapter :)**

_"__You have to get to the hospital, now. It's Emma"_

Regina didn't even let Ruby finish her statement before dropping the phone and moving her stunned gaze to Mary Margaret and David.

"What's wrong?" David rushed over and grabbed a hold of Regina's shoulders.

"Emma," was all Regina managed to get out, her eyes not quite focusing on anything.

David moved his hands to gently cup Regina's face, forcing her to look him in the eyes, which were brimming with tears.

"She's in the hospital," Regina whispered brokenly. "I don't know… oh God I hung up on Ruby I don't even know…"

David shushed Regina; she didn't need to continue that train of thought. "I'll take you there right now," he said calmly. "I'm sure everything is fine." He turned to Mary Margaret, who nodded just at his look.

"I'll stay with Henry here," she said. "If he wakes up though, what should I tell him?"

Regina sniffled, trying to keep her composure together. "Just go lay with him in the bed and he should be fine… usually he sleeps through the night." Inside Regina's heart was breaking—if something really serious had happened to Emma, she had no idea what they would tell Henry, let alone help him get through it. The past few weeks had been hard enough but at least Emma was around…

David shuffling around to get their coats broke Regina out of her thoughts, and she snapped to attention. Squaring her shoulders back and taking a deep breath, Regina took her coat from David and then walked purposefully towards the front door, knowing he would be right behind her.

The ride to the hospital was entirely too familiar by now, a fact which didn't sit well with Regina. She could hardly stay still—her fingers tapping on the dashboard and windowsill, her legs restlessly shifting beneath her. David knew better than to say anything—as much as he wanted to give reassurance, they had no context of what happened or if Emma really was okay or not.

After what seemed like hours but was probably only 15 minutes at most, David pulled up to the front doors and let Regina get out, knowing she wouldn't have the patience to wait to park the car.

Regina flew through the emergency room doors, her gaze drawn straight to Ruby who was pacing the room in tears.

"Ruby!" Regina called, drawing the other girl's attention to her. Ruby flew towards her, practically tackling Regina in a hug. Regina could feel her whole body trembling. "What happened?"

"Well when I left you guys I still wasn't quite ready to confront Emma, I mean you know how she can be—it's frustrating and a little scary. So I walked around for a bit and then I went back to the apartment and the door was unlocked so I knew she was home." Ruby took a shuddering breath.

"I didn't… I walked into the kitchen and there was so much… I thought it was blood," Ruby cried while Regina sucked in a harsh breath. "It wasn't… there was glass. Wine… I'm not sure where she got it but the pills were… and Emma was unconscious and she wouldn't… and the ambulance came and I don't know, no one has told me anything."

Ruby was crying so hard now it seemed like she could hardly breathe, so Regina just continued hugging her, trying to absorb the information. It felt like ice was running through her veins and her head felt so light, like it would detach at any minute.

"If I had just been sooner getting home maybe-"

"No," Regina cut Ruby off. "You didn't do anything wrong. We both knew how bad Emma had gotten, but no one could have predicted this was going to happen."

Ruby nodded miserably, and buried her face in Regina's neck again when David finally came through the main doors. Regina told him the information that Ruby had told her, and he gave a grim nod before moving back through the ER doors for doctors only.

_Sometimes it did pay to have a friend who was a doctor_ Regina thought. Her and Ruby moved to the chairs to sit down and finally David came back, the expression on his face unreadable.

"She should be okay," he began, causing both women to sag in relief, "But it's going to be a really rough road ahead. She almost OD'd on the painkillers, and the doctors had to pump her stomach. She hasn't woken up yet so the big question will be if she did it on purpose or it was just an accident, but either way she's most likely going to have to become an impatient for psychiatric care."

Before Ruby could interject with a comment David continued, "No, the doctors can't force it if Emma says that she didn't want to kill herself, but it is going to be highly recommended. Somehow you have to convince her."

Ruby sighed; getting Emma to change her mind about anything was nearly impossible, she couldn't even imagine how this was going to go over.

"You guys can go sit with her until she wakes up. I'll go call Mary Margaret and update her on what's going on," David said. Regina nodded to him in thanks, before pulling Ruby up with her to go to Emma's room.

Regina thought that the first time seeing Emma in the hospital was a shock, but it was nothing compared to this. Her skin looked grey and washed out, and Regina hadn't even realized how much weight Emma had lost in the past few months—she was now mere skin and bones. Her hair looked flat and dull, her lips cracked and sickly.

"Oh Emma," Ruby breathed next to Regina, immediately moving to sit in the chair next to the bed and taking Emma's hand. Regina was slower, but still moved to the other side of the bed and hesitated before taking Emma's other hand.

"For the record I'm really glad you're okay," Ruby said quietly to Emma. "But when you wake up I'm going to kill you myself for putting us all through this shit."

Regina let out a watery laugh, and just listened to Ruby talking to Emma almost as if everything was normal. Soon enough though, Ruby had fallen asleep and Regina was left with her thoughts. David had left to go be with Mary Margaret, who was happy to report that Henry hadn't woken up yet. He would have to be brought to the hospital in the morning though, which meant enduring even more pain and confusion. Regina sighed, no use in worrying about it now. For now, Emma just had to wake up.

While lost in her own thoughts, Regina started humming a song, realizing after a moment that it was one her father used to sing to her when she was distressed about something.

_Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high. And the dreams that you dreamed of, once in a lullaby…_

_Well I see trees of green, and red roses too. I'll watch them bloom, for me and you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world…_

She sang the song softly; it had always been one of her favorites because it combined two songs that she also loved. Regina's eyes drooped as she was finishing the song, and finally she fell into a restless slumber.

…

Emma woke slowly, her throat feeling like she had swallowed some flames. After an attempt to swallow she let out a harsh cough, radiating pain through the rest of her body, and followed that cough with a soft groan.

The noise caused movement to her right, and she saw Ruby on one side of her, then noticed Regina on the other side. She was back in the hospital? Emma tried to remember how she got here, but couldn't think past the pain she was feeling. Luckily Ruby herself was waking up and could hopefully provide an explanation. Nothing could have prepared Emma for Ruby's immediate glare, though.

Ruby took a deep breath as though she was going to start yelling at Emma, but then assessed her, rolled her eyes, and reached for the water on the end table instead. Even while furious at her best friend, she still wouldn't let her suffer.

"Thanks," Emma croaked out after taking a few painful swallows.

"Do you have any idea what happened?"

Emma shook her head and then winced—even that hurt. "I feel like I've been torn apart."

Ruby snorted, "You may as well have been." She fixed Emma with a serious look, "You OD'd, Emma. You nearly died."

A shock ran through Emma's body at the words and her mouth gaped open, which at least let Ruby know that killing herself was most likely something Emma had not planned on doing.

"What-?" Emma asked, the question hanging in the air.

"Regina and I decided to have Henry stay with her at Mary Margaret and David's for the night and I came back to the apartment to find you laying unconscious in a puddle of wine and broken glass," Ruby's tone was harsh, but she decided that Emma didn't need to be treated gently anymore.

"You can't keep doing this anymore Emma! What if Henry had been with me, what if he had seen you like that? Do you know what that would have done to him? Do you know what your behavior is even doing to him _now_? The poor kid is hardly even speaking anymore, and I can't remember the last time I heard him laugh," Ruby spit out, her voice slowly rising and waking Regina up too.

"You need to go to therapy," Ruby told Emma, her voice finally breaking.

Regina rubbed her eyes and took stock of the situation; Ruby standing over Emma in a defensive pose and Emma looking entirely worse for wear.

Emma shook her head, "No," she protested. "I don't need therapy, I'll be fine. This was just a slip. It was a mistake."

"Yes you do!" Ruby all but screamed. "Have you even listened to anything I've been saying? You're hurting your son, your girlfriend, _me_, the person who has been with you through everything. Do you even care?" There were tears streaming down Ruby's face as she finally let go of all of the frustrations she had been carrying around.

Carefully Regina got up and moved around to the other side of the bed, putting her hand on Ruby's back before looking at Emma.

"Regina…" Emma said, trailing off. She truly looked awful, and Regina knew that she couldn't fall for those green eyes any more. Not if Emma really needed to get better.

"Ruby's right," Regina said, happy that her voice only cracked once. "The hospital will provide inpatient care and they'll get you the help you need. Including the physical therapy that you stopped doing as well."

Regina took a deep breath, "Emma I love you, and I love Henry, and I'd love nothing more than to be a part of your family forever. But right now I don't like you, and I can't keep going day after day terrified of your moods or if you're going to hurt yourself, I just can't." Her voice was really wavering now, and she felt Ruby take one of her hands and squeeze it; she was truly glad to have another friend for comfort now that knew exactly what she was going through.

"You decide," Ruby told Emma. "But if you choose not to do this, don't expect us to hang around, and don't expect to be let around Henry while you destroy yourself. He deserves much more than a mother who can't even help herself, let alone her child."

The comment hit Emma like a bullet; while she had known she was hurting her family, she would never regret anything in her life as much as she regretted hurting Henry. It was the only thing she aspired not to do, and now she had finally fucked that up as well.

The two women started walking towards the door as Ruby spoke her final piece, "Think about it and text me when you decide. If you make the right choice we'll bring Henry around to see you before you become impatient."

Ruby sighed, "We really do love you Emma, we just want what's best for you."

The door slamming shut on their way out reverberated through Emma's heart and mind, as she began thinking about what seemed to be the biggest decision of her life…


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N Okay so there's only 1 chapter left and an epilogue after this! If all goes well I'll have the last chapter up later today or tomorrow, and the epilogue sometime this week. If you have something you want to see for the epilogue please let me know ASAP because I only have a few ideas but nothing concrete. Enjoy :)**

**March 3**

**Can you bring Henry by? Please.**

Ruby sighed, looking at the text message she had received from Emma that morning. Neither her nor Regina had heard from Emma since talking to her the day before and she hoped that this meant that Emma had listened to everything they had said.

Poor Henry was a wreck, not understanding why his mom was back in the hospital and why he wasn't allowed to see her. He was also a little suspicious of Ruby at first, since she had said she was going to cheer his mom up but now things seemed to be worse. He got over that quickly though, the familiar comfort of his godmother needed more than anything else.

Both Ruby and Regina weren't allowed to be out of Henry's sight now it seemed—he had gone nearly four years in a stable environment with his mother never changing, and now that everything was going wrong his little mind just couldn't make sense of what was happening, meaning that since his mother was gone for now he couldn't lose the other two figures that were much like mothers to him as well.

Locking her phone, Ruby looked up from where she was sitting to where Regina was laying with Henry on the couch watching cartoons quietly. She made eye contact with Regina and then gestured to her phone.

_Emma?_ Regina mouthed over Henry's head.

Ruby nodded, and then nodded her head again towards Henry, signaling that Emma wanted to see him. Regina let out a sigh as well, and then shrugged.

_Your call_, Regina mouthed again. Ruby took a deep breath, knowing that Emma most likely wouldn't have asked unless it was serious. They were so harsh on her the day before that she had to have taken in the severity of the situation, especially regarding Henry.

"Hey Henry?" Ruby called softly, drawing the little boy's attention to her. "How would you like to go see Mommy today?"

His eyebrows furrowed slightly, "I thought you said Mommy was too sick."

"She is, sweetie, but she'd really like to talk to you. She can explain some things better than us to tell you what's going on."

Henry looked up at Regina while tucked under her arm, and then looked back to Ruby. "Okay," he replied in a tiny voice. It was clear he was scared, having no idea what to expect since he was too young to really have an explanation of what was happening.

Ruby took her phone out once more as Regina started to get Henry ready to leave. **We'll be there soon,** she texted back before putting the phone in her pocket and going to follow Regina and Henry out the door.

…

In the hospital Emma checked her reply from Ruby and let out a sigh of relief. Nothing had hurt her more in her life than hearing the damage she was causing to Henry—while she knew all along that she was hurting her family, anything regarding her son always struck a nerve. That's why that morning Emma had talked to her doctor about the inpatient care they offered, knowing that it was the right decision. She would need to spend two weeks in isolation—no contact from family or friends—then she could receive letters from people, and then two weeks after that she could have her first visit. If all went well she would be sent home in a couple of months.

The trouble now was breaking the news to Henry. Her heart broke for the fact that she would be away from her son for the next few months, and while she knew that Ruby (and logically Regina—the woman wouldn't abandon her son now, Emma was sure) was more than capable of taking care of him, he had been the center of Emma's world for the past three years.

_It's for the best_, Emma reminded herself, throwing her head back on the pillow. She had truly hit rock bottom, and the only way to go now was up.

As she was trying to think of exactly what she would say to her little boy, Ruby cautiously walked into the room alone. When she heard the soft footsteps, Emma opened her eyes, focusing them on her best friend.

The two stared at teach other in silence for a minute, before Emma let out a half shrug and a watery, "Hi."

That broke the tension and caused Ruby to make her way over to her best friend, enveloping her in a hug. She could feel Emma shaking with silent sobs, and felt a few tears gathering in her eyes as well.

"I talked to the doctor," Emma's voice said, shaking. "I won't be able to talk to anyone for two weeks. Then it'll be another two weeks before you can actually bring Henry to visit."

Ruby felt her heart drop to her stomach at that; Henry had been bad without his mom for two nights—a month was going to be a lifetime.

"He can write me letters," Emma continued. "I mean you can too, if you would even want to…"

"Hey," Ruby said softly, catching Emma's chin with her fingers. "Of course we will. We still love you Emma, but we just couldn't help you anymore."

Emma nodded, tears still spilling onto her cheeks. "I don't want to say goodbye to him," she confessed after a moment, clearly trying to hold back her sobs.

"I'm not going to lie to you, it's going to be really hard. But I'll be there for him, and Regina will too. You just make sure that little boy still knows that you love him more than anything in the world and we'll be here the first day we can, as early as we can. Okay?" Ruby said, her voice holding the same authority as the day before, but none of the anger. "You can do this."

After Emma had composed herself, Ruby left the room to get Regina and Henry. The three of them walked in, breaking Emma's heart with how much they looked like a family. She shook the thoughts out of her head though, they weren't a complete family without her, and they would get there again soon.

Unfortunately as soon as Henry saw his mother, he started crying which caused Emma's eyes to start welling with tears again as well.

"Mommy," he cried, wiggling out of Regina's arms as she placed him on the bed next to his mother. He immediately curled into Emma's chest, gripping her hospital gown tightly between his little fists and burrowing his face into her neck.

Emma just stroked his hair, breathing in his scent and trying to keep a semblance of control on her emotions. "Hey buddy," she finally managed to get out, her voice only cracking a little.

"Are you coming home Mommy?" Henry asked, breaking Emma's heart even more.

"That's what I need to talk to you about," Emma replied, shifting her son so she could look into his eyes. "Mommy hasn't been fun lately right? And that's made you sad?" Henry nodded, prompting Emma to go on reluctantly, "Well Mommy's been really sick since the car accident. And I can't get better unless I stay here for a long time. You won't be able to see me for a little while, but I promise when I get out of here I'll be good as new."

By the time she stopped talking, Henry was crying even harder and Emma looked up at Ruby, her eyes pleading for some help. It was Regina that stepped forward though, placing her hand gently on Henry's back over Emma's, also interlacing their fingers.

"Henry," she said, getting the boy to look up to her. "You want Mommy to get better right? So she can play with you again and pick you up from school?"

Henry nodded, his face still pressed into Emma's neck, soaking her skin with his tears.

"Then you have to be brave, can you do that for us? Me and Aunt Ruby will be with you everyday, okay?" Regina made sure to make eye contact with Emma while she was speaking as well, letting her know that she wasn't going anywhere.

"Okay," Henry replied, his voice thick with the tears he had been shedding. "I'll be brave Mommy." He leaned up to kiss his mother on the cheek, luckily not noticing the tears that were in her eyes as well, or Ruby and Regina's for that matter.

With the hardest part over, the three of them stayed with Emma the rest of the morning, until the doctor came back and said it was time to get Emma up to impatient care—the quicker she was admitted, the quicker she would eventually get out. After Henry said goodbye to his mom (and Emma nearly squeezing the life out of him), Ruby gave Emma a kiss on the cheek before leaving Regina to have one last moment alone with Emma.

"You'll be back in a month?" Emma asked lightly, only her eyes betraying the vulnerability she was feeling. Things had been so rocky with Regina lately, and they really hadn't been dating that long so she would understand if Regina didn't actually want to stick around for her drug addict girlfriend to get better.

"You idiot," Regina muttered before leaning forward and kissing Emma, taking her completely by surprise. Emma gasped into the kiss, before melting into it with a soft moan. After a minute Regina pulled away, but kept their foreheads connected.

"I told you before, I am _not_ leaving you. I love you, and I love your son, and you can never get rid of me," Regina said, making sure Emma kept eye contact and got the severity of her statement.

After sitting there stunned for a moment, Emma just smiled slightly and leaned forward to give Regina another soft kiss.

"Take care of him for me," she said.

Regina nodded reverently, "You take care of yourself."

She made herself break away from her girlfriend, keeping her emotions at bay so as not to upset Emma further. She would see her in a month—a month, they could do.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N Okay here it is, last chapter! I hope you all enjoy; let me know what you think and stay tuned for the epilogue (which again, any suggestions you have for that are welcome)**

**MARCH 17**

"How are you feeling today Emma?" Dr. Hopper asked as soon as she sat down. "You start getting letters from family today right?"

Emma nodded with a smile. She had been in the inpatient care for two weeks now, and while it hadn't been good by any means she was definitely doing much better than before. Since the physical therapy center was connected to the hospital, Emma was still able to work with Graham and had been doing so once a day. She also saw a therapist every other day, and had doctors checking on her vitals every couple of days as well.

Her body hadn't been severely addicted to the pain medication so she luckily hadn't gone through a horrible withdrawal period—just bad headaches and even worse body aches. She had learned to channel the pain and frustration of not being able to see her family into making real progress with her physical therapy, though.

"Do you think you're ready to see the letters?"

Emma nodded again, after a moment of consideration. "I'm a little afraid for what Regina may have written… or that she might not have written me at all. Even with all of the reassurances I had, there's still a little voice in the back of my head telling me that in the last two weeks she'll have realized that I'm not worth it."

"You're not worth what, exactly?" Dr. Hopper asked gently. He was a kind and soft-spoken man, and Emma had taken to him almost immediately. The way he phrased his questions didn't make Emma feel like she was being judged, but rather that she could finally let go of everything she had been holding in her entire life. While Ruby knew Emma's backstory of course, and Regina knew about Neal, Emma had never made it a point to talk about how her past really affected her.

In the past two weeks she had been able to tell Dr. Hopper about the abandonment issues she knew she had, but felt ridiculous about. Her immediate flight reactions to certain situations and the guilt she had over hurting people, especially her son.

Throughout everything Dr. Hopper mostly just listened, and only gave reassurances that Emma was doing just fine after her sessions. Not to say that everything had been perfect—there were plenty of times that Emma would shut down after a particular question was prompted, but the doctor was helping Emma work through that as well so that eventually she would be able to have better communication in real life situations as well.

"I feel like I'm not worth her love… Ruby has known me for the better part of ten years, and I know Henry will love me unconditionally, but Regina is different. She's going to go great places in life and I don't know if I can follow," Emma finally confessed, a little dejectedly.

"Is this because of what her mother said about you? Telling her to leave you?"

Emma grimaced, "I don't know…" she smirked a bit when Dr. Hopper gave her an exasperated look; he hated when she would answer questions with _I don't know_. "I really don't, it's always seemed to good to be true and then this accident just changed everything."

"You're doing much better with your physical therapy though aren't you?" Dr. Hopper asked, leaning forward slightly in his seat.

"Yeah, my fingers have improved the most, but they're the smallest part I guess," Emma said, trying to play it off.

"Any improvement is great, Emma," Dr. Hopper reminded her. She just nodded in response, seemingly done for today. "Well Emma if you don't have any other concerns, I think you should trust in everything that Regina has told you before. Go pick up your letters; enjoy them. They'll make the next two weeks go by even quicker."

Emma smiled at him in thanks and then left the room, practically running to her room to get to the letters that were now waiting on her nightstand. She opened the one from Henry first, which was just a drawing of the two of them walking in the park, one of his favorite things to do together. At the bottom of the picture in shaky writing it just said, "I love you Mommy. Feel better." Clearly Ruby or Regina had helped with the spelling, but the writing was all his own which caused a swell of pride to burst through Emma's chest.

Next she opened Ruby's letter, which basically said that they all missed her but that Henry was slowly getting better and back to his normal self. She also promised letters to come frequently in the next few weeks, and concluded the letter with a completely adorable attached photo of Henry asleep on top of his food at the dinner table.

Finally she opened Regina's letter, taking a deep breath.

_My dear Emma,_

_We did it—it's been two weeks, finally. Well technically as I'm writing this it's been a little bit less, but I can't wait for you to get this. I worry about you constantly and I hope everything's going well. I'm sure Ruby told you, but Henry is doing much better. He misses you though. He insists on sleeping with a picture I have of you from one of our movie dates, although I must admit that's rather adorable._

_Ruby probably didn't tell you this, but he's also been alternating sleeping with one of us at night. I know you want him to learn to be independent, but we just don't have the heart to resist him. Hopefully he'll be even better when we can see you in two weeks. Two weeks—just 14 more days._

_I miss you so much Emma. I didn't think it was possible to miss someone so much, but it feels like a part of me has been missing while you're gone. I don't want this to upset you, but I'm just reassuring you that still nothing has changed. I love you so much, and I'm still so proud of you everyday. See you soon._

_Xx, Regina_

By the end of the letter Emma wore a giant, albeit watery, grin on her face. Dr. Hopper had been right—her insecurities were just that, insecurities. Regina really did love her and was in it for the long run. Now she just had to get through these next two weeks.

…

**MARCH 31**

"Wake up wake up!" a loud voice shouted in Regina's ear, as a little body bounded into hers.

"Oomph," Regina grunted, before wrapping her arms around Henry and giving him a series of sloppy kisses all over his face. His shriek of laughter was like music to her ears, and was apparently loud enough to gain Ruby's attention as she appeared in the doorway a minute later.

"Today's the big day, huh buddy?" Ruby asked as he ran over and launched himself at her, quickly catching him. "You ready to see Mommy?"

"Yes!" he all but screamed. "We're going now?"

Regina looked at the clock next to her bed; it was only 7:30 so they still had about an hour before visiting hours started. "Breakfast first, then we can go."

Henry let out a huff and an eye roll in response that was entirely Emma, causing a pang to go through Regina's heart. _We made it_, she thought victoriously, catching Ruby's eye who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

The three of them got ready for the day, the smiles never leaving their faces. Finally they deemed it close enough to visiting hours to leave, and Henry continued bouncing in his seat the whole ride there. They were directed to the impatient care as soon as they entered the hospital, where a male nurse whose name tag read "Jefferson" was waiting for them.

"Emma's been awake since 6am waiting for you guys I'd wager," he greeted them with a smile. "Come on, she should be just about done with her physical therapy by now."

Ruby and Regina exchanged a glance in excitement—since Emma hadn't been able to write them letters back, this would be the first time they would know how she was really doing, and the mention of physical therapy plus the doctors smile seemed to be a good sign.

However, nothing could have prepared them for the sight they saw when walking through the door. First of all, Emma was standing on her own, without crutches and nothing around her to lean on. Her arm was completely devoid of any casts and she now had a simple brace around her knee. Her skin was flushed pink, and she looked like she was gaining back all of the weight she had lost.

But best of all—she was smiling. Beaming really, talking to Graham as he was having her flex her fingers back and forth. Instead of paying attention to that, she was completely absorbed in whatever she was telling him.

She was stunning, Regina simply thought.

"Mommy!" Henry screamed, breaking her out of the conversation she was having. Although Regina hadn't thought it possible, Emma's smile got even wider when she caught sight of them all.

"Henry!" she exclaimed back, holding her hands out for him to run to. She crouched down (with a small wince, Regina noted) but when Henry barreled into her arms she looked like she had never been happier or more content. She stood up with him slowly, Graham gently supporting her back, and then just stood with her arms wrapped around her son, breathing him in.

Ruby stepped forward next, and once her and Emma made eye contact she also rushed forward, wrapping her arms around her best friend and godson. She squeezed her arms tightly around Emma, lifting her and Henry off the ground briefly and causing Emma to let out a soft peal of laughter.

"I missed you, you jerk," Ruby finally said with a small sniff.

"I missed you too," Emma replied sincerely, reaching up one hand to cup Ruby's cheek. That moment was broken, however, when she finally looked to Regina. Handing Henry to Ruby, Emma quickly strode over to her girlfriend and dipped her into a dramatic kiss, prompting a gasp from Regina, a laugh from Ruby, and an "ew Mommy!" from Henry.

Regina chuckled against Emma's mouth, before fully returning the kiss. The two were wrapped up in each other for a few moments, before Emma tipped Regina back up to her feet, beaming at her the entire way.

"I love you," Emma said, as if it were any other day.

"You're beautiful," Regina said in response, reveling in the blush running down Emma's neck. God, she had missed this.

Once that was done, Regina and Henry were introduced to Graham, who updated everyone on how well Emma's physical therapy progress was going. She blushed in response, looking down and trying to keep her composure. Regina's heart swelled with pride; while the last month had probably been one of the hardest of her life, it was clear that Emma was truly doing much better.

They stayed for a few hours, before Jefferson came back and said that it was time for Emma's therapy session but that they could come back in a few days.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" Emma told Henry, squeezing the life out of him once again. "I love you."

"I love you too Mommy," he replied, giving her a big kiss.

Ruby and Regina said goodbye as well, leaving with smiles on their faces at the reassurance that things really were going to be okay.

**APRIL 12**

"You all ready to go home now Emma?" Jefferson asked, standing in her doorway. Emma stood at the foot of her bed, packing up the last of her things. It had been another two weeks and the doctors had finally given her a clean bill of health to go home. She would still have to come back to see both Dr. Hopper and Graham once a week, but for the most part she was almost fully recovered.

"There's someone here to help you finish packing up," Jefferson continued, nodding behind him before a little body shot into the room. Immediately Emma picked Henry up and kissed him on the head.

"Big day," Ruby said with a smile, striding into the room.

"Yeah," Emma replied with a sigh of relief. "Where's Regina?"

Ruby rolled her eyes; of course her best friend was more concerned with where her girlfriend was. "She's getting stuff ready at home."

Emma felt a thrill run through her. "Well let's go!" She said, prompting a laugh from both Ruby and Jefferson at her impatience. As she moved to go through the door she surprised everyone by giving Jefferson a hug. "Thank you for everything," she said sincerely.

"It was my pleasure," he replied. "I hope I never see you in here again!"

Finally the three of them made it to the car and started home, with Henry talking all the way. When they pulled up to the apartment complex, the car had barely stopped before Emma was opening the door. Ruby grabbed her bag, and Emma grabbed Henry's hand as they made their way up to the apartment.

A delicious smell was wafting through the door and as soon as they opened it Emma was able to identify that it was the smell of peanut butter chip cookies—Regina had apparently baked her favorite dessert in preparation of her coming home.

Regina herself immediately ran over to Emma as soon as the door opened, flour smattered along her face and clothes, and gathered Emma in a hug, just standing there together for a moment.

"Welcome home," she finally murmured, gazing at Emma with a bright smile full of love and affection.

_Home_, Emma thought, where they would always be together again.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N This is it, we've finally reached the end! I'm not sure who's still reading this story, but I'd just like to say thank you so much to anyone that's read it at all, and especially to the people who have stuck with it to the end. Not only is this the longest story I've ever written by far, it's also the first fanfiction I've attempted so to have so many views/follows/favorites/reviews on the first try is just insane and I am so overwhelmed and grateful for it. Seriously, _thank you_. That being said, this epilogue is beyond cliche and fluffy so I hope you all enjoy :)**

**EPILOGUE**

**FIVE YEARS LATER**

"Henry let's go we're going to be late!" Emma yelled down the hallway, frantically trying to pull her shoes on. Reaching the kitchen she stumbled for a moment, before a pair of arms grabbed her from behind, steadying her.

"You should be watching where you're going," a voice murmured in her ear. "Wouldn't want you to have some sort of accident."

Emma smiled, leaning back into the embrace and turning her head to the side. She met Regina's eyes with a smirk and replied, "I can be a bit of a klutz," mirroring her original words from when they met five years prior.

Regina rolled her eyes and leaned forward a bit, giving Emma a quick kiss on the lips. "Happy anniversary, my love."

Emma beamed, happiness radiating from the tips of her toes, "I'm so happy you ran into me that day."

"I'm pretty sure you're the one who ran into me, dear," Regina scoffed.

"Mm-mm," Emma protested lightly, brushing her nose against Regina's before bringing their lips together for another kiss, lingering much longer this time.

"Ew, mommies!" a tiny voice interrupted from behind them. They turned around to see what looked to be the spitting image of a mini Regina—from her scolding but fiery brown eyes, attitude and hands on her hips. Her hair, however, was wild, just like the girl itself—her spirit had somehow been inherited from Emma; nature versus nurture, they always said.

"What, you don't like me kissing you mom?" Emma asked teasingly.

The little girl shook her head adamantly, "It's yucky!"

Emma and Regina made eye contact before slowly advancing towards the girl, "How about if we… kiss you instead?!" Regina said, before quickly running towards the girl and picking her up in her arms planting kisses all over her head, Emma quickly joining her.

"Henry! Henry save me!" the little girl shrieked, hardly able to get the words out through her furious giggles.

Louder footsteps came thundering down the hallway as Henry came to rescue his little sister, ever the gallant savior. He playfully ran at his mothers, tackling them down so they all fell into a giant pile on the floor.

"I've got you Lily," he said, wrapping his arms around her and jokingly glaring at his mothers. A burst of love filled Emma's heart at the sight—ever since Lily was born Henry had been more than willing to help out, and now that she was older he was always playing with her and teaching her new things. He genuinely loved his sister, even though they weren't technically biologically related.

That was a big point of discussion when Emma and Regina got married and eventually decided that if they wanted another child it should be sooner rather than later so the age gap wasn't too large. They weren't sure if Emma should have the baby so each child would have the same mother, or if they would have a child from each. Finally Ruby told them that either way the argument was stupid, because they would both be the child's mothers anyway and Emma and Regina had to agree.

"Alright, alright, enough of this," a sudden voice said from the front door.

"Aunt Ruby!" Lily screamed before running over to the woman… and bypassing him as soon as she saw the other visitor. "Uncle Graham!" she shouted even louder, giggling wildly as he picked her up and hoisted her onto his shoulders.

"Mommy, Mama, look how tall I am!" she called.

Emma gasped, "You're so tall I can hardly even see you, Lily-bear!"

Regina rolled her eyes at Emma's antics before gracefully getting up off of the floor and going to give Ruby a hug. "Sorry we're running a bit late, as I'm sure you can tell."

"It's fine, it's not my big night we're worrying about here," Ruby replied with a chuckle. "The guest of honor can be as late as she wants, and she is always late," she continued with a pointed look at Emma.

"Hey!" she protested, "I have two children to get ready as well!"

"I'm all ready Mama, Henry got my shoes for me and everything," Lily said, wiggling her feet dangerously in front of Graham's face.

Getting up not nearly as gracefully as Regina, Emma made her way over to the pair and held her arms out to take Lily from Graham as he gave her a grateful look. While him and Ruby had been dating just about three years and he loved the kids, she knew that Lily in particular could be a little rambunctious.

Smoothing her daughter's hair back, she glanced towards Henry and Regina, "Everybody ready then? We all have our coats?"

It was a bustle of movement as everybody got their winter gear on and then headed out of the apartment where a limo was idling at the curb.

"No," Emma groaned, looking towards Regina and Ruby, "_Seriously?_"

"It's your big night," Regina replied, giving Emma a quick kiss on the temple before murmuring in her ear, "Please just enjoy it."

Emma huffed and rolled her eyes a bit, before getting in the limo without further protest, everyone else following behind her. Since Henry and Lily had never been in a car so fancy before the ride was spent with them checking out all of the cool features the backseat had to offer, keeping everyone entertained.

Regina, however, knew better and could feel the tension and nerves radiating off of her wife. "It's going to be fine," she whispered, lacing her fingers through Emma's and giving a gentle squeeze. Emma sent her a grateful look in response, but didn't say anything else as they finally rolled to a stop in front of their destination.

_REGAL SWAN GALLERIA_

The sign out front read in big letters, not too overdone but just enough to catch the attention of a passerby. Luckily Emma's business planner of sorts knew her family well enough and had already gotten the event started before they arrived. They got out of the car, Regina holding Emma's arm while she picked up Lily, and Ruby grabbed Henry's arm as they made their way in.

"Emma!" a voice called as soon as they stepped inside.

"Mary Margaret!" Emma said with a smile in her voice, quickly making her way over to her sister-in-law. "How are you?" she asked, giving her a hug as best as she could with Lily still situated on her hip. Mary Margaret and David had moved out of the city a few years ago so they could start a family of their own, and figuring that would be easier to do in the suburbs.

"We're wonderful," she said, her hand resting lightly on her prominent baby bump. "David is with James around here somewhere. And this can't be Miss Lily?"

"It is M&amp;M!" Lily exclaimed, using her special name for her godmother since _Mary Margaret_ was kind of a mouthful for a young child.

"But my Lily is only three years old, you must be at least six by now with how big you are!" Mary Margaret replied, holding her hands out to take Lily and give her a hug. Once Lily was situated, Mary Margaret gave Emma a nod signifying that she was okay to watch her for a little bit while Emma went off to greet people.

Spotting Regina and Henry talking to people across the room, Emma quickly got started, making her way from person to person to make as little small talk as she possibly could before moving on. While this was technically her night, that didn't mean she loved being the center of attention so prominently.

After about a half an hour a hand finally caught her arm and brought her off to the side, startling Emma a little before she saw who it was.

"Cora!" she said with a bit of relief. "I've been looking all over for you. Thank you for getting this started before, we had a bit of trouble getting everyone all together."

"Nonsense dear," her mother-in-law replied. "I know how hard it is getting that little one to do anything you ask of her," she replied, but it lacked any of her old malice.

After years of conflict, Regina and Cora had finally worked things out, and in turn she was now accepting of Emma as well. It mostly came around when Regina became pregnant with Lily, and Cora finally realized that she didn't want to miss her grandchild's life, and accepted that Henry was now her grandchild as well. She was a surprisingly fun grandma, taking great pleasure in spoiling the children much to their mother's chagrin.

Emma also had her to completely thank for tonight and finally helping her achieve her dream. While Emma had always wanted to own her own art gallery, Cora was able to provide her with the connections to do so without asking for anything in return, and even helped with all of the organization involving the business and grand opening.

"Now I think it's time for that big speech of yours," Cora told Emma, ignoring the groan she got in response and pushing her towards the front of the room where a microphone was situated.

"Um, excuse me," Emma said quietly, not gaining much attention. Cora rolled her eyes and strode forward, tapping on the microphone and getting everyone's attention quickly. "Thanks for that," Emma muttered.

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming tonight," she continued. "Ever since I was growing up, art has been the one constant thing in my life. No matter where I was, I was always able to find some medium to make art on and would go to different art museums whenever I could. It has also been the defining factor of so many important occasions of my life.

When I got pregnant, it was what helped me cope and when Ruby wanted to kill me for freaking out all of the time it was my way of distressing," she joked, earning a chuckle and a nod from her best friend.

"It also happened to be what got me to meet my beautiful wife Regina, the love of my life. Five years ago my clumsy self totally got run over by her because I wasn't able to see over one of my art projects," Regina scoffed at that, "It was what was almost taken away from me in an accident that same year, and with that I almost lost my whole family as well," Emma took a deep breath, trying to steady herself until she felt a familiar hand link with hers, signifying that her wife had now moved to her side in support.

"I am beyond grateful to be where I am today. If it weren't for Ruby and Regina, my wonderful son Henry, David, Mary Margaret… you too Graham!" she said, not intending to leave him out. "And so many other people. You all supported me through my worst days, and then supported me even more during my best days. And now I'm married and have another beautiful child and I've finally achieved my dream.

My dream was to own an art gallery, which is why you're all here tonight. But my other dream, my real dream, was to find true happiness. And I have that as well, and I would just like to thank everyone again for helping to get me here," from somewhere a champagne flute was pressed into her hand, briefly making her roll her eyes before raising her hand in the air. "To love!" she called, before turning to her wife, gaze filled with indescribable emotions.

"To love," Regina repeated softly, before kissing her wife on the lips and reveling in the true happiness that she had finally found as well, and the true happiness that would follow both of them for the rest of their lives.


End file.
